Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus Dureza with the government peace panel holds a press briefing before leaving for Norway / Photo courtesy of OPAPP via Twitter
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has restored the ceasefire with communists, effective 12 a.m. August 21, 2016.
In a statement read by Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus Dureza, the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRH) will implement the ceasefire
The Duterte government will walk the extra mile for peace, said Dureza, who held a press briefing before flying to Norway.
The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) on Friday night also declared a seven-day unilateral ceasefire after GRH freed two top insurgent leaders who would join peace talks in Norway.
In a statement, CPP said the truce would take effect at 12:01 a.m. on August 21, 2016 and last till 11:59 p.m. on Aug. 27.
The statement said the CPP Central Committee and the National Operational Command of the New People’s Army, the CPP’s armed wing, declared the ceasefire “to celebrate and bolster” the resumption of peace talks between the government and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), the CPP’s political wing.
In his State of the Nation Address on July 25, 2016, Duterte announced a unilateral ceasefire with communist fighters, saying it is his “dream” to end the armed struggle which has raged for decades.
He urged the fighters to reciprocate as he laid the groundwork for peace talks due to begin in Norway next month.
He, however, withdrew the ceasefire on July 30, 2016 after his ultimatum for the group to reciprocate lapsed.