Gov’t. Assures Sincerity Following CPP-NPA Ceasefire Declaration

Armed Forces expects CPP-NPA will be sincere on the ceasefire, too

The Armed Forces of the Philippines assured that the government troops nationwide will respectfully follow by the restored ceasefire declaration of the government with the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army.

This is the statement released by the government after the CPP-NPA on Friday, August 19, declared a 7-day unilateral ceasefire days before peace talks are set to resume between communist rebels and the Philippine government in Norway.

The CPP-NPA said the ceasefire will take effect starting 12:01 am on Sunday, August 21, until 11:59 pm of Saturday, August 27.

It will cover the 5-day peace talks to be held in Oslo, Norway, between the negotiating panels of the government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), the CPP’s political arm.

On Saturday (Aug. 20), Col. Edgard Arevalo, chief of the AFP’s public affairs office, said the military leadership has started informing their units the government’s reimposition of its truce with the communist party.

“The Declaration of Restoration of Ceasefire by the President and [Commander-In-Chief] Rodrigo Duterte that takes effect midnight of 20 August 2016, and his clear instructions for the AFP to restore its erstwhile operational guidelines will be communicated forthwith to all AFP units on the ground by all means possible as we speak,” Arevalo said in a statement released less than an hour after Dureza announced the ceasefire’s restoration.

“The nation can expect that the guidelines will be followed to the letter as it has been so prior its lifting by [President Duterte] due to the [lack] of similar declaration from and attacks on the AFP personnel by the other party to the talk,” Arevalo said in the statement.

He said the military was “hopeful” and “prayerful” that the CPP-NPA will match the government’s ceasefire with “same zeal and sincerity.”

“The AFP support and abide by all peace initiatives where it has the established record of fidelity to past peace initiatives. We just hope that the other party is as  sincere and as committed to attaining a  just and lasting peace,” Arevalo said in a statement released before the government restored the ceasefire.

On Saturday, Presidential Peace Adviser Jesus Dureza said that the restored ceasefire will “last for as long as necessary to bring peace in the land.”