Military declares truce with rebels for Pacquiao fight
By Joel Guinto
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 16:42:00 03/15/2008
MANILA, Philippines -- The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has declared a seven-hour unilateral ceasefire in its campaign against communist insurgents on Sunday to give troops time to watch the fight of boxing hero Manny Pacquiao, the chief of staff said.
The suspension of offensive military operations (SOMO) will start at 8 a.m. and will end at 3 p.m., General Hermogenes Esperon Jr. said in a phone interview Saturday.
"I suggest that they also watch the fight," Esperon said jokingly of the communist New People's Army (NPA).
Esperon said he declared a SOMO so that "the conduct of soldiers is clear" during Pacquiao's bout with Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez. He said the AFP declared an "informal" SOMO during Pacquiao's last fight in 2007.
"To tell you the truth, we will all be watching the fight because Pacquiao is a soldier. Rather than not knowing what to do, we decided to declare the SOMO," Esperon said.
"There are some constraints and reminders. If [soldiers] are members of patrols, they are excluded from the SOMO. If units have to address a security problem, they can suspend the SOMO," he said.
The hugely popular Pacquiao, who has also dabbled in movies and television, is a reservist master sergeant in the Philippine Army.
Asked if a Pacquiao win would be a morale boost for the troops, Esperon said: "Oh yes, that's true for all us Filipinos, especially for us because Pacquiao is a soldier."
"Win or lose, he [Pacquiao] will remain to be the pride and idol of the Army, the Filipino soldier, and all Filipinos. But I have no doubt that he will bring home the bacon," Army Chief Lieutenant General Alexander Yano said.
The Pacquiao fight will be shown at the AFP Theater in Camp Aguinaldo and at the Philippine Army gymnasium in Fort Bonifacio.
The AFP last declared a SOMO against communist insurgents during the Christmas and New Year holidays last year.
As a matter of policy, it does not declare a SOMO against Islamic extremists in the south. Esperon said there was no need for a SOMO against the secessionist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), with whom the AFP has a long-standing ceasefire.
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