Although the history of failed talks and broken ceasefires since 1986 raises doubts about the trustworthiness of the CPP-NPA as a negotiating partner and casts a shadow of skepticism over the potential for meaningful progress, the formal talks resumed less than eight months after the late Simeon Benigno C. Aquino assumed the presidency in mid-2010.

PRESIDENT BENIGNO AQUINO III (2010-2016)

15-21 February 2011 — The formal talks awaken like a dormant beast after a seven-year hibernation.

December 2012 — In a rare convergence, the government and the CPP-NPA-NDF engaged in a "special track" meeting, birthing the declaration of a holiday ceasefire from 20 December 2012 to 15 January 2013.

February 2013 — The fragile accord of the special track talks shattered after the NDF presented uncompromising demands, including the withdrawal of military and police forces from Oplan Bayanihan and the cessation of the government's conditional cash transfer program — Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program — that the government staunchly refused to entertain.

27 April 2013 — The national government cut the cord on formal peace talks with the rebels due to the "swelling tide of violence" inflicted by the NPA on civilians, and the NDF's preconditions.

2014 — Under the guidance of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, informal discussions were orchestrated by "private emissaries" in a bid to resuscitate the peace talks. Regrettably, these efforts floundered in the face of a deadlock over the contentious prisoner release issue.

15-16 June 2016 — Preliminary discussions were held in Oslo, Norway, to reignite the peace talks, with peace negotiator Jesus Dureza, former Rep. Hernani Braganza, and then Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello in the government's peace panel, and Jose Maria Sison, Fidel Agcaoili, and Louie Jalandoni in the CPP-NPA-NDF group.

The inaugural round of peace talks slated for the third week of July was postponed to August to accommodate the release of NDF consultants.