MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang said Friday that it expected Maoist rebels to honor their word and comply with the unilateral ceasefire it declared early in the day so that Filipinos would experience a "peaceful" Christmas celebration. "The Palace welcomes the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army’s (CPP-NPA) declaration of a unilateral ceasefire with the government in observance of the Filipino people’s traditional holidays," the presidential palace said in a statement hours after communist rebels declared the cessation of their military offensives. Headlines ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1Despite the declaration, Madlos said that the communist militants would maintain an active defense stance in the event government forces violated their declaration of a truce. The Department of National Defense, despite its aversion to the declaration, said that the government's unilateral ceasefire would be from 6 p.m. on December 23 up to 6 p.m. December 26. The truce would kick into effect again from 6 p.m. on December 30 up to 6 p.m. on January 2.

Source: Philippine Star December 22, 2017 09:11 UTC