President Benigno S. Aquino III has approved the
recommendation of the Department of National Defense for the unilateral
declaration of the Suspension of Military Operations (SOMO) against the New
People’s Army (NPA) for the Christmas and New Year holidays.
The SOMO will commence at 12:01 a.m. of December 23, 2015
and would end at 11:59 p.m. of January 3, 2016, Communication Secretary
Herminio Coloma, Jr. said on Friday.
Last Dec. 15, the defense department recommended that
President Aquino approve a SOMO against communist insurgents.
The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) has already
declared a 12-day holiday ceasefire in support of calls to resume the stalled
peace talks with the government.
The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) said
the truce would take effect from Dec. 23, 2015 to Jan. 3, 2016. The NDFP
negotiates with the government on behalf of the CPP and its political arm, the
NPA.
The ceasefire order was issued in solidarity with the
Filipino people’s traditional celebrations of Christmas and New Year holidays,
the NDFP said.
The ceasefire will also allow its forces to carry out mass
assemblies and public demonstrations to mark the 47th anniversary of the CPP
and celebrate revolutionary victories of the past year, it said, adding that
the move is also in support of efforts of peace advocates to foster the
resumption of the peace negotiations between the government and the NDFP.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=839591
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