By Roy Mabasa
The United Nations (UN) on Thursday (Wednesday in New York) welcomed the announcement of a temporary ceasefire between the Communist Party of the Philippines and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines amid the global pandemic caused by the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
The United Nations emblem is seen in the UN General Assembly hall at UN headquarters in New York, US.
(REUTERS/Lucas Jackson / MANILA BULLETIN)
“We welcome the temporary ceasefire announced by the Communist Party of the Philippines with the Government of the Philippines on 24 March following the Secretary-General’s call for a global ceasefire to facilitate the global response to COVID-19,” Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said in a statement.
Dujarric said the UN chief encourages the parties to reach a “lasting political solution” and end the longstanding conflict.
“The Secretary-General also hopes that this will serve as an example across the world to silence the guns and come together as we face the global threat of COVID-19,” she added.
On Tuesday, exiled CPP leader Jose Maria “Joma” Sison responded to the call of the UN by agreeing to a ceasefire with the government “for the common purpose of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Sison, in a statement, advised the negotiating panel of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDF) to recommend to its national council “the issuance of a unilateral ceasefire declaration by the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) to the New People’s Army (NPA.”
The CPP’s action came less than a week after the Philippine government declared a unilateral ceasefire with the communist group.
Read more: AFP, CPP heed UN call for global ceasefire