Ceasefire with Reds declared

MANILA, Philippines — In preparation for the resumption of peace negotiations, President Duterte has approved a holiday ceasefire with communist rebels and has ordered the reconvening of the government peace panel.

Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said the ceasefire would be implemented nationwide from Dec. 23 to Jan. 7.

“The Palace hereby announces that President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has directed the declaration of a unilateral and reciprocal ceasefire with the coalition of the Communist Party of the Philippines, the New People’s Army and the National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF),” Panelo said in a statement issued yesterday.

Duterte also ordered the defense and interior departments, the military and the police to issue an official ceasefire declaration and relay the directive to threir officials and armed units.

Earlier, the defense department and the military said they were not keen on a holiday ceasefire with the communists, saying the rebels had used previous suspensions of government offensives to launch attacks.

“The President has also ordered the reconstitution of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) negotiating panel, naming Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea as among its members,” Panelo said.

He said Duterte’s directives reflect the administration’s commitment to talk peace with the communists, who have been waging an armed struggle against the government for five decades.

“With the undertaking of these confidence-building measures - a reflection of the seriousness and commitment of the GRP, as well as a mark of goodwill on the part of the commander-in-chief , the Office of the President looks forward to the possible resumption of peace talks with the NDF, achieve accord with the whole coalition and ultimately, attain a lasting peace among the citizenry of our country,” the Palace spokesman said.

“The President wishes that all Filipinos enjoy quietude and serenity as they celebrate the holiday season with their loved ones free from violence or any form of disruption,” he added.

In 2017, Duterte terminated the peace negotiations with the communists after the New People’s Army, the armed wing of the rebels, launched successive attacks against government forces.?The President changed his tone last month and revealed that he is sending Bello to the Netherlands to talk to Sison for what he described as his “last card” to finish the five decade-conflict with the rebels.?Last week, the defense department and the military announced that they would not recommend a ceasefire, saying communists had used previous suspensions of offensives to celebrate their anniversary and launch attacks.

Unaware

In 2017, Duterte terminated the peace negotiations with the communists after the NPA launched successive attacks against government forces.

The President changed his tone last month and revealed he is sending Bello to the Netherlands to talk to Sison, which he described as his “last card” to finish the five decade-conflict with the rebels.

Last week, the defense department and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) announced they would not recommend a ceasefire, saying communists had used previous suspensions of offensives to celebrate their anniversary and to launch attacks.

With this development, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said they have yet to receive official communication from the President regarding the proposed holiday truce.

Lorenzana said the defense department is yet to be informed of the supposed agreement reached in Utrecht.

“We are not aware of this agreement between Secretary Bello and Jalandoni,” he said.

AFP spokesman Brig. Gen. Edgard Arevalo said the military is not keen on recommending a holiday ceasefire with the NPA.

Following an ambush that killed a policeman and two civilians in Eastern Samar just after President Duterte expressed his willingness to resume peace talks with communists, Arevalo slammed the NPA’s “deplorable act” of murdering civilians and wounding 14 others.

Arevalo said such attack “affirmed the AFP’s decision not to recommend the declaration of a unilateral ceasefire” with the communists this holiday season.

The Philippine National Police (PNP), for its part, would remain on full alert status even with the holiday ceasefire.

National police spokesman Brig. Gen. Bernard Banac said the PNP will not change its alert status unless there is specific instruction from President Duterte on the recommendation for a ceasefire.

Banac said police forces are on alert for possible attacks by the NPA to mark the rebel group’s 50th founding anniversary on Dec. 26.

A local military official from the Visayas region said the NPA in the region is preparing its notorious hit squad “sparrow units” or SPARU, the rebel group’s Special Partisan Unit.

Lt. Col. Joel Benedict Batara, 61st Infantry Battalion commander, said they received reports the NPA might deploy sparrow units in the region to mark the CPP’s founding anniversary on Dec. 26.

Interior Secretary Eduardo Año earlier bared the CPP-NPA had formed a team to assassinate high-ranking government officials, with the President on top of the hit list.

Año had claimed the three men who were killed in an encounter with the police in Novaliches, Quezon City last Friday were communist hit men.

The military and the Presidential Security Group (PSG), the unit tasked to protect the President and his immediate family members, said they received intelligence reports of a communist hit list that included Año, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. and National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) chairman Allen Capuyan, a former military intelligence officer.

Even with the President on the communist’s wish list, Año said the interior department will abide with Duterte’s orders if he announces a ceasefire with rebels for the holidays.

Año said it is Duterte’s prerogative to make the announcement but he has yet to do so.

“The President is yet to make the announcement. It is the prerogative of the President to declare a unilateral ceasefire for the Christmas season and we abide with whatever he decides,” Año said.

The ceasefire was supposed to start today and last until Jan. 7, 2020, as recommended by the panel and their authorized representatives.

On the other hand, the militant party-list group Bayan Muna welcomed “with cautioned enthusiasm” the joint announcement of a Christmas-season ceasefire.

“This certainly will augur well in creating the favorable environment necessary for the resumption of the cancelled peace talks between the government and NDF, which is long awaited by our people. We strongly call on the government and NDF to resume the talks in earnest without preconditions and based on previously signed and binding agreements,” Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate said.

However, Zarate warned the two sides against “militarists and saboteurs who will do everything to prevent a political, just and lasting solution to the more than five-decade old armed rebellion in our country.” – With Emmanuel Tupas, Michael Punongbayan, Romina Cabrera, Edith Regalado, Jess Diaz, Jennifer Rendon