MANILA - Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. on Tuesday ordered the military to temporarily halt its offensives against the communist New People's Army (NPA) and divert the focus of government troops to calamity relief efforts.

Teodoro said that from offensives, troops pursuing NPA members are being assigned to the government's relief operations for the victims of Tropical Storm “Ondoy” and Typhoon “Pepeng”, which have displaced hundreds of thousands of people in large parts of Luzon in the past two weeks.

The combined death toll from the two weather disturbances has reached more than 300 people, mostly from Luzon provinces. The storms affected more than 3 million people, with nearly 500,000 people still in evacuation centers, based on data from the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC).

The cost of damage to agriculture and infrastructure from the two weather disturbances has been pegged at nearly P10 billion.

The NDCC, which Teodoro concurrently heads, has been asking for volunteers for the government's relief and rehabilitation efforts for areas affected by the two storms.

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) ordered the NPA last Sept. 28 to hold off its tactical offensives in the “Ondoy”-affected  “for the next few days.” 

The CPP said that this would have “local NPA units concentrate on relief and rehabilitation and supporting the resumption of people' production and livelihood.” With a report from Jay Ruiz, ABS-CBN News