Palace elated over truce with Reds

MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang on Saturday was elated with the seven-day unilateral ceasefire declared by the Communist Party of the Philippines and the New People's Army (CPP-NPA) ahead of Oslo peace talks.

In a statement on Friday night, the CPP-NPA said the truce would take effect starting 12:01 a.m. on Sunday until 11:59 p.m. of Saturday next week.

“The president has already walked an extra mile for peace,” said Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar in a statement issued on Saturday.

“He (President Rodrigo Duterte) is glad that the CPP-NPA-NDFP (National Democratic Front of the Philippines) showed a similar gesture of goodwill as a sign of sincerity to the peace process prior to our talks in Oslo, Norway,” he added.

The communist rebels declared the truce hours after leaders Benito and Wilma Tiamzon were freed Friday from the Camp Crame Custodial Center after posting bail for cases filed against them in various courts.

The couple was among the last of the detained ranking members of the NDFP to walk free, who was granted with temporary passes for the duration of the peace negotiations in Oslo, Norway.

“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.

The CPP added that they are open to a longer-term ceasefire once the rest of the political prisoners are freed.