ON July 5, 1996, the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) undertook to apply for the protections under the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and Protocol I of 1977, wherein the Swiss Federal Court would serve as the depository and the International Committee of the Red Cross as its official guardian. Through this, the parties in the peace process would recognize the belligerency status of the revolutionary group and that the armed conflict was a civil war. Hence, we ask: What is our desired future? Are neoliberal policies consistent with our shared values?

Let’s analyze the past and present problems plaguing the country.  We have history on our side proving the futility of the militarist approach, prompting us to promote peace studies and peacebuilding activities. The sociologist Johan Galtung introduced the concept of peacebuilding in 1975, along with the approaches of peacemaking, i.e., removing tensions between conflicting parties, and peacekeeping, i.e., ending physical violence. Forty-five years hence, however, there are still individuals in the academic community who consider nothing but the militarist measure.

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