(Eagle News)–The extension of the government’s unilateral ceasefire with Communists will depend on President Rodrigo Duterte’s discussion with the National Task Force on Ending Local Armed Conflict.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque made the remark on Sunday, April 19, after the Communist Party of the Philippines extended its unilateral ceasefire to April 30, or the expected end of the enhanced community quarantine in Luzon.
The government’s truce ended on April 15.
“The call for peace is everyone’s desire and it has become more urgent in the present state of calamity and public health emergency,” Roque said.
But the Palace noted what it said were the New People’s Army’s violations “in the form of violent armed encounters with government troops.”
“They even forcibly seized relief goods last April 7 intended for Barangay Guinmayohan residents in Balangiga, Eastern Samar, affected by the coronavirus disease 2019,” Roque said.
The NPA has denied the military’s allegations.