Roy Erecre was released from prison on bail. Thanks to the government witnesses who did not show up during the hearing of his motion for bail. Thanks too to his able counsels among whom is current Tagbilaran City Councilor Adam RelsonJala, former congressman of the 3rd District of Bohol.Erecreis expected, of course, to attend subsequent hearings of his cases unless he would rather jump bail and lose out P500,000 which he posted as bail than return to the courts which the CPP does not recognize anyway. Erecre, also known as (a.k.a.) Toto, who is tagged by the military as the leader (Secretary) of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) in Central Visayas was caught sometime in May this year and was charged with several criminal cases including murder, rebellion, and robbery in band he allegedly committed in Bohol, Cebu and Negros Oriental. The members of the Provincial Peace and Order Council would like to find out during its meeting last week why he was granted bail when some of the criminal cases filed against him were non-bailable. It turned out none of the prosecution's witnesses (most of them policemen) turned out in the hearing for bail.

Now why government cannot produce the witnesses when it has spent so much money in tracking and capturing Erecre is beyond my comprehension. And why an elected city government official would agree to represent a client charged with offenses that will consider the accused an enemy of the state is also still bothering me, and perhaps many of those who spent sleepless nights trying to locate and capture him. Provincial Prosecutor MacarioDelusa said the only time an official or employee of government who is practising law can only represent a client if the crime he is charged of involves a private person or party. I hope this is what happened in the case of Erecre since he had several criminal cases filed against him. I read in another weekly last Sunday an open letter to Erecre by a former comrade of his – Rodulfo “Kid” Caneda, who happened to become my friend long after he left the movement. The open letter is quite revealing about the character of Mr.Erecre.However, I read between the lines of Kid's letter a subtle message that he would like Mr.Erecre to consider. And why not? The quest for lasting peace between government and the CPP-NPA-NDF (CNN) has been a long drawn wish that we all want to come to a happy end.

Since Mr.Erecre has already surfaced albeit by being captured, it is now a fact that he is no longer a fugitive from the law. His experience in the underground movement and his genuine cause for providing the people with a good life can be in thefavor of finally nailing that peace we all want to enjoy. His being a consultant to the NDF Panel that sat opposite the negotiation table with government for decades could be the straw that could break the camel's back of peace negotiation impasse. For some years now, the peace negotiation with the CNN has been on an “on- and- off” status if not completely down. We cannot be fighting all our life hoping our children will continue what we have started. But there has to be a conclusion to anything started. We can end this yet soonest to the satisfaction of all parties. I was still in college when fighting occurred between government troops and the Muslimsecessionists in Mindanao, particularly Cotabato. With the causes rooted in history, who would have thought that an agreement can be reached this early (four decades after). The conflict with CNN is almost of the same length of time already. It is time we end it peacefully too. Let me therefore give my rejoinder to Mr.Erecre for him to broker the resumption of the peace talks between government and the CNN. Some people in government and in the CNN would not want this, but we cannot let Filipinos go on fighting each other when the best solution is a peaceful settlement to the conflict. Government cannot give up its power and authority but it can consent to meaningful reforms that the CNN can propose. We hope Mr.Erecre will consider this option for the sake of peace. His new freedom can be put to good use for the cause he has long fought for.