AFP wants Christmas ceasefire with NPA rebels

The military on Sunday said it would recommend a “Christmas truce" with communist rebels to President Benigno Aquino III. Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesperson Brig. Gen. Jose Mabanta said the military leadership has decided to recommend the traditional suspension of military operations (SOMO) with members of the New People’s Army (NPA) during the Christmas and New Year holidays. “Looking at the present situation, I would suppose that we would also be recommending for similar declaration as what we have done in the past years," he said in a radio interview on Sunday. However, he added that he could not immediately give details about the duration of the truce. The government has been declaring a ceasefire with communist rebels during the Christmas season for the past seven years. Last year, former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declared a truce with the NPA from December 24 to 26 for the Christmas holidays, and on January 1, 2010 for the New Year. The President usually consults the military and other government agencies before declaring a ceasefire. The Aquino government and the communist-led National Democratic Front are trying to revive the peace process that got bogged down in 2004 when the United States included the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and the NPA in its list of foreign terrorist organizations. Mabanta said the military would be in an “active defense posture" even after the President declares a ceasefire. “If we see that there is a threat against our own position and in the villages and against our people, then we have to act," he said. – AC/KBK, GMANews.TV