By Roy Ramos & Hader Glang
ZAMBOANGA
Communist rebels have shot and killed two unarmed soldiers and a militia volunteer in the southern Philippines, amid a holiday truce for which the government and a leftist insurgency set different dates.
Army spokesperson First Lt. Vergel Lacambra told The Anadolu Agency that two soldiers and a militiaman assigned to their unit were in civilian clothes on a motorcycle when eight rebels opened fire on them at around 09.45 a.m. Monday (01.45 a.m. GMT) in Compostela Valley province.
"The 10th infantry division strongly condemns such treacherous attack by [New People’s Army] NPA rebels who murdered unarmed soldiers," Lacambra said, accusing the rebels of double talk with respect to the ceasefires the two sides declared unilaterally.
The three men, who had been headed from Mabini town to the village of Anitapan for their Christmas break, sustained multiple gunshot wounds in the attack.
Major Gen. Eduardo M. Ano, 10th Infantry Division commander, released a statement offering his condolences to the families of the slain and promising to bring to justice those responsible for the “merciless, treacherous crime.”
“The continued banditry attacks disprove the sugar-coated statements of the Communist Party of the Philippines-NPA,” he said. “They claim that they are pursuing peace but their actions clearly contradict what they are saying.”
As part of its month-long ceasefire from Dec. 19 to Jan. 20, the Philippine army has suspended military operations and shifted efforts to community services.
The NPA’s truce, on the other hand, only covers Dec. 24-26 for Christmas, Dec. 31-Jan. 1 for the New Year and Jan. 15-19 for Pope Francis' upcoming visit to the Philippines.
Earlier this month, the military lambasted the NPA over the Dec. 23 abduction of a jail warden in Davao del Norte province.
Meanwhile, the founder of the Communist Party – which marked its 46th founding anniversary Friday -- said in a video message posted on Facebook that peace talks with the government may resume in the coming year.
Jose Maria Sison, who is currently in exile in the Netherlands, said back-channel talks to "prepare the agenda" for formal negotiations have been ongoing since September. He expressed that agreements on a ceasefire, as well as social and economic reforms, may be finalized before President Benigno Aquino III steps down in 2016.
The NPA -- the Communist Party’s armed wing -- has been waging an insurgency since 1969 that has left tens of thousands of people dead.
Philippine authorities have tagged the rebels as notorious extortionists and blamed them for harassing banana, pineapple and rubber plantations, as well as poultry farms and mining outfits.
Aquino had aimed to reach a peace deal with the communists by the end of his term in 2016, but talks collapsed in February last year due to rebel demands that detained comrades be freed.
The two panels could not reach an agreement on a "special track," which sought to speed up the negotiation process that has been on and off since the presidency of Benigno’s mother, Corazon.
www.aa.com.tr/en
