NDFP consultant Louie Jalandoni dies at 90

Luis "Louie" Gamboa Jalandoni, a senior consultant for the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) and a key figure in peace negotiations, has died at the age of 90.

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Central Committee announced his passing, stating he died peacefully at around 9:05 AM in Utrecht, the Netherlands, surrounded by family.

Born on February 26, 1935, into a family of landlords and sugar barons in Negros, Jalandoni was a former Catholic priest who left the priesthood for the national democratic revolution.

He co-founded the Christians for National Liberation in 1972 and was active in the labor movement during the 1970s.

Jalandoni served as the chairman of the NDFP and was its chief peace negotiator starting in 1989.

Before the Duterte administration left in June 2022, Jalandoni was designated a terrorist, along with five suspected CPP members, by the Anti-Terrorism Council.

In November 2023, he expressed that a "substantive agenda that can provide concrete benefits for the people, keeping in mind always that the roots of the armed conflict must be resolved," should be pursued for peace negotiations.