NPA declares ceasefire

By Dolly Yasa

Bacolod City –The New People’s Army (NPA) in Negros said Wednesday that it received orders from the central committee of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) to declare a ceasefire in order to concentrate all efforts in combatting the coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19.

Ka Juanito Magbanua, spokesperson of the NPA’s Apolinario Gatmaitan Command, said the ceasefire takes effect 12:01 a.m. Thursday and will end at 11:59 p.m. on April 15.

The purpose of the ceasefire is to ensure that the movement of medical, health, and economic assistance will not be hampered.

The truce is also a gesture by the NPA to facilitate a positive atmosphere for the resumption of peace talks.

“During the ceasefire period, all NPA units and people’s militias shall cease and desist from carrying out offensive military operations against the armed units and personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the Philippine National Police (PNP),” the declaration said.

However, the NPA was also ordered to stay vigilant and ready to act in self defense if the AFP or the PNP launches an operation against them.

Earlier, the National Democratic Front (NDF), the political arm of the CPP, received a recommendation from their chief political consultant, Jose Maria Sison, to declare a ceasefire.

Based on Sison’s statement, which was forwarded by the NPA in Negros, the recommendation was made in response to a request from United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres for a global ceasefire between warring parties for the common purpose of fighting the pandemic.