Palace monitoring gov’t troops’ safety in truce; 4 NPAs killed in last-minute clash

By Yas D. Ocampo, Aaron B. Recuenco, and Mike U. Crismundo Davao City — President Duterte said yesterday that he will be closely monitoring information on his ground troops while the bilateral ceasefire with the communist rebels is in effect and the peace talks in Oslo, Norway is under way. Hours before the ceasefire declaration, four communist rebels were killed and three soldiers wounded in two separate clashes. Holding a press conference in this city on the first hour of the ceasefire taking effect, Duterte said he would have to ask the men and women who were dying for the country to tell him the actual situation on the ground: “Are you safe over there?” It was Saturday afternoon when Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus Dureza, before departing for Norway, announced that the President has restored all the operational guidelines of his ceasefire declaration for the Armed Forces [...]