AFP won’t recommend holiday truce with Reds — Arevalo

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Thursday said it will not recommend to President Rodrigo Duterte a ceasefire with the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the New People's Army, this holiday season.

In a statement, military spokesman Major General Edgard Arevalo said that in the past, communist rebels have shown insincerity to the holiday truce as they allegedly continue their hostile acts.

"This was the AFP’s painful experience where the communist terrorist group reneged from their own ceasefire declaration by attacking and killing soldiers on humanitarian and peace and development missions," Arevalo said.

"During the incumbency of a truce, these terrorists continued their extortion activities and committed crimes of murder, arson, and the likes," Arevalo added.

Likewise, Arevalo said the communist rebels are venturing on peace talks to "give themselves the chance to regroup, refurbish, recruit new members and recoup their losses."

He claimed that National Democratic Front negotiator Luis Jaiandoni had supposedly declared that peace talks are being done to pursue armed struggle and not to bring tranquility between the government and the rebels.

"With these many hard lessons of the past, we will not allow them to trample upon our people’s bona fide desire for peace—not this holiday season—not until we have decisively defeated this menace to society," Arevalo said.

Arevalo, however, said the AFP leadership would support the final decision of Duterte regarding the matter. 

Last year, the Philippine government and the communist group both declared ceasefire during the holiday season. It lasted from 12 a.m. of December 23, 2019 until 11:59 p.m. of January 7, 2020.

During that period of the ceasefire, respective armed units and personnel of the NPA were prevented from initiating operations against the state forces, which, in turn, only maintained defensive posture. — RSJ/KBK, GMA News