31 March 2017•Update: 31 March 2017
By Hader Glang
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines
Two Philippine soldiers and 10 communist rebels have been killed in a clash ahead of resumed peace talks, according to the military Friday.
The violent encounter Thursday afternoon also came a day before the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) was expected to declare a unilateral cease-fire ahead of April 2-6 negotiations in the Netherlands.
On Friday, the Army's 80th Infantry Battalion commander said the latest fatalities occurred when troops on a combat operation encountered around 30 rebels from the New People's Army (NPA) -- the CPP’s armed wing -- in the village of Lumutan in northern Luzon island’s Quezon province.
"It was a meeting engagement. Two of my men were killed and two more were wounded but the NPA lost a lot of men," Col. Randolph Cabangbang said. "Operations are still ongoing."
GMA News also quoted Maj. Gen. Rhoderick Parayno, 2nd Infantry Division commander, as saying 10 rebels were killed according to information reaching the military.
The government's peace panel chairman, however, said that after the latest clashes they are no longer keen on reciprocating the unilateral cease-fire the communist rebels are expected to declare.
"Right now, there is no reason to declare a unilateral ceasefire because our President is more interested in obtaining a bilateral ceasefire agreement," Secretary Silvestro Bello said in a press briefing Friday.
He also expressed doubt about the expected declaration going through.
In early February, the NPA withdrew an earlier unilateral cease-fire declared last year, citing the government’s “failure” to release all political prisoners and the military's alleged encroachment on territory under the group’s control.
President Rodrigo Duterte later announced the end of the government’s cease-fire and told authorities to re-imprison political prisoners from the National Democratic Front -- the CPP’s political arm -- who had been released to attend recent talks in Norway and Rome.
In backchannel talks held in past weeks, negotiators from both parties decided to resume a fourth round of talks.
