Palace welcomes truce, optimistic of ‘fruitful’ peace talks

Malacañang on Saturday welcomed the seven-day unilateral ceasefire declared by the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) on Friday night, ahead of the peace negotiations in Oslo, Norway next week.

READ: Reds declare 7-day truce

Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said President Rodrigo Duterte was “glad” that communist rebels “showed a similar gesture of goodwill as a sign of sincerity to the peace process on the eve of our talks.”

“We therefore feel optimistic that the mutual efforts of both sides would lead to fruitful negotiations that could pave the way for substantive discussions in the hope of putting an end to one of Asia’s longest-running insurgencies,” Andanar said in a statement.

The CPP said the truce, which would take effect till 11:59 p.m. on Aug. 27, was meant to “celebrate and bolster” the resumption of talks between the government and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), CPP’s political wing.

The declaration came hours after the release of NDFP peace consultants, including top insurgent leaders Benito and Wilma Tiamzon, who will participate in the talks next week.

The government, for its part, has not declared a ceasefire following the truce. CDG

READ: Release of Tiamzon couple shows Duterte sincerity—OPAPP