[Gulf Today] The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) on Tuesday declared a 12-day unilateral ceasefire "in solidarity" with the celebration of the Christmas season and the new year. In an email to media, the CPP said it ordered members of the New People's Army (NPA), its armed wing with about 4,000 insurgents, to observe the truce from December 23 to January 3.In its statement, the CPP said that during the ceasefire, it ordered its insurgents to stop their attacks on government security forces. However, the party emphasized it also ordered the NPA to resist attacks from government forces for the duration of the truce.
The CPP statement was confirmed by the National Democratic Front (NDF), its political wing that represents the insurgents in the on-again, off-again negotiations with the Philippine government in Oslo. On its website, the NDF said, "This (truce) will also enable the revolutionary 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."
Manila has yet to declare a ceasefire but was expected to do so as they do regularly.