THE government is on heightened alert for possible attacks by the Community Party of the Philippines, which culminates on its 52nd founding anniversary on December 26.
At the Laging Handa public briefing, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the military has already been given directives to be extra vigilant for possible attacks by the communist rebels even as he claimed that they would continue with their operations against the insurgents in compliance with President Rodrigo Duterte’s announcement of a no-holiday-truce policy last Monday.
Duterte earlier said that that there will no longer be any ceasefire between the government and the insurgents until the end of his term.
“Walang pagbabago, medyo paigtingin lang siguro nang konti iyan habang papalapit iyong anibersaryo ng CPP-NPA-NDF sa 26 December,” Lorenzana was quoted as saying at the public briefing.
“Gumagawa sila ng mga karahasan para siguro ipakita sa lahat ng tao na sila ay nandiyan pa; hindi pa sila nawawala.”
Both the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) welcomed the President’s decision, with the military accusing the rebels of repeated ceasefire violations.
The military also claimed that the peace negotiations were only used by the rebels to recruit new members.
CPP’s information officer Marco Valbuena said on Tuesday that the CPP’s Central Committee has yet to issue a decision on whether it will declare a ceasefire for the holiday season.
He said the decision will “likely come a week before the holidays.”
“Duterte’s declaration that there will be no more ceasefires with the revolutionary movement comes as no surprise. His government’s policies have always been shaped by military generals who are obsessed with prolonging the civil war,” Valbuena said.
The CPP was founded by Jose Maria Sison, who is in self-exile in the Netherlands, on December 26, 1968.