President Arroyo on Tuesday spurned the demand of the local communist group to release its colleagues facing criminal charges unless ordered by the court.

The President said the government will not undermine the rule of law and the judicial system just to move forward the peace talks with the communist rebels.  “This cannot be done unless the court ruled. We have to follow the rule of law,” she said in a radio interview while visiting Cotabato City.

This was the same principle applied by the government when the Supreme Court struck down the proposed Muslim homeland, according to the President.

Mrs. Arroyo said the government had to abide by the SC ruling on the memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain (MoA-AD) even though it derailed the peace talks between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

The National Democratic Front, the political arm of the Communist Party of the Philippines and New People’s Army, earlier demanded the release of 14 consultants as a precondition to the resumption of the talks. But the government negotiators  claimed the unreasonable rebel demand showed the group’s insincerityto the peace process.

Deputy Presidential Peace Adviser Nabil Tan also disagreed with the revival of the peace talks at the expense of the justice system.

Tan, who was called by the President to provide updates on the peace process, said the government will “not subvert the judicial process” to accommodate the demands of the communist rebels.

He said the peace talks should have resumed last August 28 in Oslo, Norway when the NDF demanded the release of 14 more of their consultants.

He said the government has released two rebel consultants “but they were insisting on eight more.”

He said the government remains committed to the resumption of the talks and hopes the rebel group will reconsider their demand. “Hopefully, the CPP-NDF is still committed together with the GRP to move forward this peace process so we can attain lasting peace,” he added.