Propaganda stunt, gov’t says of CPP holiday truce
The central committee of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) unilaterally declared on Monday a four-day ceasefire for Christmas and New Year that was rejected by the military.
According to the communist party, the ceasefire will take effect from Dec. 25 to Dec. 26 and again on Dec. 31 to Jan. 1.
“This temporary ceasefire order is being issued in solidarity with the Filipino people as they conduct simple celebrations of their traditional holidays amid grave social and economic conditions,” CPP information officer Marco Valbuena said in a statement.
The Department of National Defense (DND), however, dismissed the CPP’s pronouncement, calling it a “sad propaganda stunt.”
“Military duties are not subject to pause or seasons, thus the Armed Forces of the Philippines shall continue to support the Philippine National Police in keeping peace and order this holiday season,” the DND said in a statement.
‘Knee-jerk reaction’
This was backed by the AFP, who said that military operations would continue.
“As families come together this Christmas and New Year, our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines will remain on duty,” it said in a separate statement.
In reaction, Valbuena issued another statement in which he criticized the “knee-jerk reaction” of the DND and AFP to CPP’s unilateral ceasefire declaration.
He said that members of its armed wing, the New People’s Army, have been ordered to be in “active defense mode” and to be on “high alert” against ground and aerial attacks of the AFP during the unilateral, four-day ceasefire.
In December 2023, the CPP declared a two-day ceasefire, the first holiday truce announced by the insurgents since December 2019, which was still marked by sporadic violence. It was also the first unilateral ceasefire since the period from March 26 to April 30, 2020, in response to the United Nations’ call for a global armistice during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2023 ceasefire announcement came a month after the November signing by the government and the CPP’s political arm, the National Democratic Front of the Philippines, of the Joint Statement in Oslo, Norway. Both sides agreed in principle to end Asia’s longest armed struggle since the Duterte government terminated peace talks in 2017.
In December 2024, the CPP said it would not declare a ceasefire over alleged continued attacks by government troops.
Valbuena said this year’s ceasefire would also commemorate the party’s 57th anniversary on Dec. 26. —WITH A REPORT FROM INQUIRER RESEARCH
