NPA, AFP pressed anew on Lent ceasefire
Recto asks : Who will blink first for peace?

With Palm Sunday less than 36 hours away, Sen. Ralph Recto wonders who between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the New People's Army will blink first for peace and order their troops to silence their guns in observance of the Holy Week.

Last week, Recto broached the idea that the AFP and the NPA observe a Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday ceasefire this month but his appeal seems to have fallen on deaf ears with none of the parties to the world's longest-running armed conflict bothering to issue a reply .

Undeterred by the snob, Recto is pressing anew his call, this time with urgency as he fears that the arrest of Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo, a former negotiator of the National Democratic Front, may have given rise to an atmosphere of distrust� that would lead to the first time since 1986 that the NPA-AFP would not observe truce during Christendom's most sacred holiday.

Recto insisted that the process of stilling the guns of conflict during the solemn week should not be impeded by the detention of Ocampo.

To set the truce in motion, Recto said either the government or the NDF can declare a unilateral ceasefire which can be matched by a similar declaration by the other party.

"It doesn't matter who will declare first. The important thing is that any ceasefire call will be met by a similar call. The challenge is who will be brave enough to take the first step toward temporary peace," Recto said.

"If possible let us have the truce from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday," he said.

The senator stressed that combatants of both parties could use the respite in battle to reflect on their careers in the profession of arms and think about the future of the nation.

"Lent is a time for praying not fighting," Recto said.

Recto stressed that a lull in fighting would allow all parties to think deeply about the country's future and recognize the suffering of our people who have to bear the cost of prolonged hostilities.