AFP to observe Dec. 30 to Jan. 2 ceasefire with Reds

MANILA, Philippines — The Armed Forces of the Philippines on Saturday said it will observe the suspension of offensive military operations (SOMO) against communist insurgents that was set in time for New Year.

“The AFP is committed to uphold the SOMO scheduled on 30 December 2017 to 2 January 2018,” the military said in a statement.

As a matter of “policy and principle,” the AFP said that while security forces will follow the temporary ceasefire, troops are still on alert for “treacherous attacks” of the New People’s Army — the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines.

“The public can be rest assured that as they celebrate New Year, our soldiers will be there to guard the place as our units on the ground maintain their active defense posture,” the AFP said.

“We call on the remaining red fighters to rethink their position and take peaceful path to change for their families and for the betterment of the country,” it added.

Malacañang earlier said the ceasefire would only be in effect from 6 p.m. of December 23 to 11:59 p.m. of December 26, and from 6 p.m. of December 30 until 11:59 p.m. of January 2.

The Christmas ceasefire has been a customary move by both sides since the launch of formal talks in the late 1980s under the first Aquino administration.

The communists have been waging a guerilla war for almost five decades in a bid to topple a “bureaucrat” capitalist system that has caused one of Asia’s widest rich-poor gaps despite the Philippines’ rich natural resources.

Communist fighters are known for collecting “revolutionary taxes” from local businesses in rural areas—an activity that authorities qualified as plain extortion. They are also recognized for their deadly attacks on police and military outposts.

In 2002, the US Department of State designated the CPP-NPA as foreign terrorist organizations.

Amid continued hostilities, Duterte, a self-styled socialist, unilaterally scrapped last month the reactivated peace talks between the government and Maoist rebels. Both sides have been in on-off negotiations since 1986.

He said peace talks were called off because of the Left’s “pure nonsense” demand for a coalition government, and the rebels’ supposed lack of sincerity.

He later declared the CPP and its armed-unit as terrorist groups, raising concerns among activists in the national democratic movement that legitimate organizations could be targeted as supporters of terrorism.

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