<span style="color: #222222;">Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte declared a unilateral cease-fire with communist guerrillas today to focus on fighting the coronavirus threat. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Duterte ordered the military and police to stop offensives against New People's Army guerrillas during the cease-fire, which is to start tomorrow and end on April 15.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"><br />'' Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano ordered the national police to shift to a defensive posture. He urged the Marxist guerrillas to respond with their own cease-fire.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"><br />'' Duterte launched peace talks with the rebels when he took office in mid-2016. But the negotiations, brokered by the Netherlands, eventually bogged down with both sides accusing the other of continuing to carry out attacks.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"><br />'' The insurgency has raged for more than half a century, making it one of Asia's longest-running rebellions. </span><br />''