MANILA, Philippines — The Communist Party of the Philippines on Monday said it will not declare a ceasefire over the holidays, which means the New People's Army can conduct "tactical offensives" against state forces.
The last ceasefire between government forces and the rebels was during the holidays of 2019, when both sides declared unilateral ceasefires but remained on the defensive. Peace talks broke down during the Duterte administration over allegations of ceasefire violations.
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In a statement on Monday, the CPP Central Committee said there is “absolutely no reason” to call a ceasefire to mark the holidays and the 54th anniversary of the party on December 26.
It cited the “relentless state terrorism and armed suppression against the Filipino people” of the Marcos administration and the Armed Forces of the Philippines as the reason for not declaring a holiday truce.
"Even now, hundreds of villages are placed under military control (hamlet) where people are restricted when to buy rice or work in their fields, where soldiers raid homes, unjustly arrest, torture and willfully kill people, and drop bombs, fire rockets, and shell communities, farms and forests, which terrorize civilians," the CPP said.
The CPP also ordered the New People’s Army to carry out tactical offensives against state security forces.
CPP’s founder Jose Maria Sison died last week in The Netherlands, where he had lived in self-imposed exile since the collapse of peace talks in 1987. He was 83.
The party declared 10 days of mourning to honor Sison.
Sison founded the CPP on December 26, 1968 and the NPA the following year. The NPA has been waging one of the world’s longest-running insurgencies.
Peace talks between the communist rebels and the Philippine government went on-and-off during the administrations following former President Corazon Aquino, who had ordered the release of Sison and others arrested during the Marcos dictatorship.
The Anti-Terrorism Council designated the CPP, the NPA, and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines as terrorist organizations, although a court has yet to formally declare them as such. — with report from Xave Gregorio