By DPA
Manila : Communist rebels of the Philippines Monday vowed to launch more attacks during the Christmas holidays instead of reciprocating a unilateral ceasefire declared by the government.
Gregorio Rosal, spokesman for the Communist Party of the Philippines, said rebel forces were expected to conduct more offensives against government troops during the ceasefire.
He hailed a “successful ambush” that killed three marines in the western province of Palawan Sunday, the start of the government’s 22-day suspension of military operations.
“The ambush shatters the peace pretensions of the (President Gloria Macapagal) Arroyo regime and its armed forces,” Rosal said in a statement.
“Carrying out more frequent and widespread tactical offensives against weak enemy armed forces is a most effective way of defeating the continuing campaigns of suppression,” he added.
The government’s unilateral ceasefire will be in effect until Jan 6, 2008.
Hours after the start of the ceasefire, communist rebels killed three unarmed marines on their way to a public market in San Vicente town in Palawan.
General Hermogenes Esperon, armed forces chief of staff, said the attack did “not discourage” the military from pushing through with the suspension of offensive military operations.
“After all, this (ceasefire) was meant to afford everyone a chance to enjoy the Yuletide season and to feel the difference between violence and peace,” he added.
Communist rebels have been fighting against the Philippine government since the late 1960s, making the movement one of the longest-running leftist insurgencies in Asia.