[UPI] Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte declared an immediate cease-fire Monday in the government's 48-year battle with Maoist militants. During his first national address, he said, "To the (rebels), let us end these decades of ambuscades and skirmishes. We are going nowhere. And it is getting bloodier by the day.""Let me make this appeal to you: If we cannot, as yet, love one another, then in God's name, let us not hate each other too much," Duterte said.
The Philippine government is preparing to resume official peace talks on August 20 in Oslo with the Communist Party of the Philippines, National Democratic Party and the armed New People's Army.
Duterte said, "We express our willingness to go to the negotiating table and yet we load our guns, fix our sights, pull the trigger. It is both ironic and tragic -- and it is endless. That is why, I reach out to you, to all of you today. To our Muslim brothers, let us end the centuries of mistrust and warfare."
Duterte's cease-fire doesn't include Abu Sayyaf. He has said he wants the Philippines' armed forces to "crush" the militant group.