A six-day truce announced by the Communist Party of the Philippines is too short, the chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines said Thursday, adding the communist rebels should declare a ceasefire “forever.”
“Napakaiksi naman ng dineclare nila, nag-declare pa sila. (Kung) gusto nila, forever wala nang putukan e, di ba yun ang gusto natin,” AFP Chief of Staff Lieutanant General Emmanuel Bautista told reporters Thursday.
The truce will be from 12:00 a.m. on December 24 to 11:59 p.m. on December 26, and another from 12:00 a.m. on December 31 to 11:59 p.m. on January 2, 2014. The CPP will celebrate its 45th founding anniversary on December 26.
“Bakit hindi sila mag-declare ng mahaba, forever. Sana, kung magde-declare sila, pang-matagalan na, para yung ating mga kababayan hindi na magdusa sa armed struggle, masyadong matagal na tayong nagdurusa dyan,” Bautista said.
The government has yet to announce a ceasefire of its own but Bautista said the AFP will comply with whatever truce the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process will set.
Peace talks between the government and the CPP-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front have been stalled since April this year. — Amita Legaspi/JDS, GMA News
