Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) Sec. Carlito Galvez Jr. reminded supporters of the communist rebel groups to refrain from setting any precondition in order not to derail the planned peace negotiation between the Philippine government (GRP) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP).

In a statement by OPAPP, it said the peace adviser was responding to recent statements coming from different groups, which were citing supposed preconditions to the talks.

"There should be no preconditions whatsoever as these can derail future discussions. As we have learned from our past experiences, making such pre-conditions even before the start of the discussions put a huge burden on both sides when there is still a need to agree on the parameters and framework of the talks," he said.

"Our future discussions should be rules-based, consultative, inclusive, and most importantly, all issues from both sides should be formally put on the table and not through other unofficial platforms," Galvez added.

While Galvez did not name the groups he was pertaining to, activist groups Karapatan and Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) earlier called for the release of political prisoners as reaffirmation of commitments and adherence to previously signed agreements including the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) which grants immunity to all individuals involved in the peace talks.

For Galvez, coming up with such demands at a time when both the GRP and NDFP are still holding exploratory talks "is unnecessary and counterproductive to the peace process."

"I would like to urge other parties to respect the Joint Statement and Oslo Joint Communique and not make preconditions or release propaganda that will water down the peacebuilding efforts of the previous and current administrations,” the peace adviser said.

"We respect and appreciate your suggestions. But now is not the time to issue such premature and provocative statements that will compromise the initial 'goodwill' that has been painstakingly built in Oslo," Galvez emphasized.

Prior to this, veteran NDFP peace negotiator Asterio Palima said that preconditions should not be set by both the GRP and NDFP as it would be more important for both parties to establish trust and rapport first before setting any demand to end the five-decade long civil war being waged by the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army-National Democratic Front of the Philippines (CPP-NPA-NDFP) against the national government.