Pimentel calls on Reds to bend backwards on gov't ceasefire

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Q. Pimentel, Jr. urged the National Democratic Front (NDF) to reconsider its objection to the government's proposal for a mutual ceasefire.

The communist guerrillas have rejected the proposal for a ceasefire first between the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the New People's Army (NPA) as a precondition for the resumption of the long-dormant peace negotiation.

Pimentel said the government's insistence on a truce declaration is not a frivolous or irrational proposal and unless the NDF drops its hardline stand against it, the deadlock in the peace talks will drag on indefinitely.

"The government's insistence on a ceasefire is a good move. It is difficult to hear one another if bullets are whizzing by the negotiators' ears while discussing peace," he said.

He added, "Anyway, it is not impossible to do so without conditions. That is what the government and the NDF should explore in good faith."