"We are not at fault. We have no reason not to honor the cease-fire agreement." Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said answering accusations that
Malacañang refused to honor the extended truce with the Community Party of the
Philippines and the New People's Army (CPP-NPA) until January 15. The communist rebels, on the other hand, were accused of killing a wife of
an Army militiaman in an ambush in Albay province hours after unilaterally
lifting the truce on Wednesday.
Lacierda denied that President Benigno Aquino III signed a prolonged
cease-fire only after the agreement supposedly expired on Wednesday. "The [cease-fire agreement] never expired first before the president signed
it, let me declare. The expiration was until 12:00 am of January 3 (Thursday),"
Lacierda said, explaining that the Palace was willing to honor the extended
date.
Saying that the communist parties were the ones who prematurely terminated
the truce, Lacierda added that Armed Forces of the Philippines was instructed to
observe the temporary state of peace until January 15 even without Aquino's
renewed directive. "Obviously, (government) was willing to honor the cease-fire till the 15th
of January ... (The rebel groups) were the ones who broke their word when they
decided to pre-terminate the cease-fire agreement," Lacierda said.
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