Rebels tell military to suspend operations

Manila: The commander of the New People's Army (NPA) has asked the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to suspend its operations in Compostela Valley in southern Philippines to facilitate the safe release of kidnapped army personnel First Lieutenant Vicente Cammayo.

Rigoberto Sanchez, spokesman of the NPA's Medardo Arce Command in Compostela Valley, said the release of Cammayo "is an act of goodwill" for the 40th anniversary of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) last December 26. The NPA is the armed wing of the CPP.

But Philippine army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Romeo Brawner said government forces expect the Marxist rebels to honour their commitment to the suspension of offensive military operations from December 31 to January 1.

"The CPP shouldn't use the release as propaganda because what they did was criminal. The army is determined to apply its full might... if they will not fulfil their promise," Brawner said in a statement.