The Philippine military has proposed a short Christmas cease-fire with communist rebels to allow them to visit relatives without fear of attack.
A Philippine military spokesman said Monday the army has asked President Gloria Arroyo to limit the usual holiday truce of at least several days to just two days - Christmas Day and New Year's Day.
The military is recommending a shorter truce this year because it wants more time to deal with a recent surge in attacks by communist guerrillas. The military spokesman says a longer cease-fire would allow rebels to recruit new members and retrain fighters.
If approved, the two-day truce would be one of the shortest ever observed by government forces in the decades-long conflict with communists in the Philippines.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.
