Communist killings on International Peace Day condemned

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine military has condemned the communist rebels’ abduction and killing of a soldier and a militiaman Wednesday, as the country was observing the United Nations International Peace Day.

Philippine Army spokesman Colonel Antonio Parlade said that Private First Class Ronel Mansiwagan and paramilitary member Ortega Carian were off duty when seized by members of the New People’s Army and killed.

“What do they get from killing unarmed soldiers?” said Parlade.

“If today we are still under martial rule, they will expect us to attack their mass base, so they gain more,” he said.

The Armed of Forces of the Philippines was observing a 24-hour unilateral truce with the insurgents Wednesday.

The Communist Party of the Philippines, meanwhile, dismissed the ceasefire as “a hypocritical publicity stunt that aims to cover up the violence and abuses being perpetrated daily by AFP forces against the people, especially in the countryside.”