Philippine Communist Rebels Declare Ceasefire with Government Forces to Combat COVID-19

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] The Philippine government and communist rebels announced that they will enter a ceasefire until the 15th of next month to respond to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Philippines recently surpassed 500, rapidly spreading and raising concerns about the resulting damage.

According to foreign media such as the Associated Press on the 25th, the Philippine government and communist rebels agreed to a ceasefire from the 26th until the 15th of next month to respond to COVID-19. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), which has been fighting against the government forces for over 40 years, announced that it instructed the New People's Army (NPA), the armed wing under the CPP, to observe a ceasefire from the 26th until the 15th of next month.

Prior to this, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte proposed a ceasefire to the CPP on the 16th to respond to COVID-19, and then unilaterally declared a ceasefire until the 15th of next month on the night of the 18th. Since 1969, the armed struggle of the communist rebels in the Philippines has resulted in more than 40,000 deaths. Shortly after Duterte took office in August 2016, the government and the NPA began peace talks and agreed to an indefinite ceasefire, but the talks collapsed in November 2017, and the civil war resumed. The communist rebel forces, which numbered about 26,000 in the 1980s, are now reported to have decreased to around 3,500.

The ceasefire between the two parties is known to be due to the rapidly increasing number of new COVID-19 cases in the Philippines. As of this day, the cumulative number of confirmed cases in the Philippines has risen to 552, with deaths increasing to 35.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.