THERE would no longer be a ceasefire with the communist rebels until he steps down from power, says President Rodrigo Duterte heeding recommendation of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
Taking cue from the President’s announcement in his public address Monday night, the AFP expressed gratitude to Duterte for his decision that there will be no ceasefire with the communist group for the rest of his term.
In a press statement, AFP spokesperson Major General Edgard Arevalo reiterated what he claimed as insincerity of the communist rebels.
“We are thankful to the Commander-in-Chief for heeding the AFP’s recommendation not to declare ceasefire this holiday season and beyond—not because we do not want peace, but because what we advocate is a genuine and lasting peace that we cannot achieve through a peace pact with the NPA that is notoriously insincere and unworthy of public trust,” Arevalo said.
In his Monday public address, Duterte also mentioned that there would be no resumption of peace talks between the government and the National Democratic Front (NDF), the negotiating arm of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).
“I would say the ceasefire is dead and the peace talks between the NDF, NPA, pati ’yong isali na rin natin legal front nila. Pati kayong lahat, I am identifying you because I have seen the records. You are really communists,” Duterte was quoted as saying in his public address.
The AFP has been saying that in the previous years, communists continue with their hostile activities despite the ceasefire. These include attacks on soldiers and civilians as well as their extortion activities.
The military also claimed that the peace negotiation was only used by the rebels to recruit new members.
Last year, the Philippine government and the communist group both declared a ceasefire during the holiday season. It lasted from 12 a.m. of December 23, 2019 until 11:59 p.m. of January 7, 2020.