The army reported on Thursday half a dozen Maoist rebel attacks in the south, including a raid on a jail where guerrillas took weapons and other equipment from an armory.
The government has been fighting communist rebels for 40 years. About 40,000 people have been killed and investors scared away from poor but resource-rich rural regions.
President Benigno Aquino said he has approved a proposal to suspend military operations against the rebels to allow soldiers to spend time with their families.
“There will be suspension of military operations starting tomorrow until ... January 2,” Aquino told reporters, adding he was heeding the advice of the defense department and presidential peace adviser.
Offensives against Al-Qaeda-linked Islamist militants, holding several hostages including a retired Australian soldier, were not suspended.
Last year, the government and communist rebels agreed on a 19-day holiday truce, the longest in 10 years, ahead of the resumption in January of peace talks aimed at ending one of the world’s longest-running Maoist insurgencies.
Talks have been stalled since June over a rebel request to release political prisoners and Manila’s demand that the rebels stop extorting money from mines, plantations and construction companies.
Norway has been brokering the on-off negotiations.
