Teodoro nixes holiday truce with rebels

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr.—Senate PRIB

MANILA, Philippines — Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. rejected on Wednesday a holiday ceasefire between the military and communist rebels in response to a similar announcement by the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).

“Any ceasefire with the [Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (NPA)-National Democratic Front] is a ceasefire against terrorists and criminals,” Teodoro said in a statement released through the Presidential Communications Office’s Facebook page.

“It is a last-ditch measure of a Jurassic group to find relevance in the national political ecosystem,” he said.

The CPP, which marks its 56th anniversary on Dec. 26, said on Tuesday it would not declare a ceasefire over alleged continued attacks by government troops.

READ: Reds declare 2-day holiday ceasefire [2023], a first in 4 years

“Large-scale military deployments and offensives of the [Armed Forces of the Philippines] across all regions in the country” counter the military’s claim that the NPA has been reduced to a single guerrilla front,” CPP spokesperson Marco Valbuena said.

The AFP earlier said that communist rebels were “down to one” guerrilla front and no longer capable of carrying out large-scale operations.

“Over the years, the CPP has shown that they are antigovernment, antidevelopment and antipeople, so with this, the AFP will continue with our internal security operations,” AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Padilla told reporters on Tuesday.

“Rest assured, we will continue all our internal security operations for us to sustain the gains that we have … and we will always be ready for any eventuality,” she said.