MANILA (UCAN): Communist rebels in the Philippines announced there would be no ceasefire this Christmas unlike in previous years as they step up offensives against the military in memory of their founder, Jose Maria Sison, who died on 22 December 2022.
The New People’s Army [NPA], the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines [CPP], detonated a landmine in Samar province, in the Visayas region on December 19 as the announcement was made, wounding six soldiers.
The blast came days after Sison, 83, died in exile in the Netherlands. The party declared a 10-day mourning period.
For decades, the NPA and the military have declared a ceasefire during Christmas, but not this year.
“There was absolutely no reason this time to declare a ceasefire since the regime of the United States and President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. and its fascist Armed Forces of the Philippines have continued with their relentless terrorism and armed suppression of the Filipino people,” the Communist Party’s Public Information officer, Marco Valbuena, told reporters on December 19.
The rebel group said their actions were to honour the memory of their founder and the principles he fought for.
There was absolutely no reason this time to declare a ceasefire since the regime of the United States and President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. and its fascist Armed Forces of the Philippines have continued with their relentless terrorism and armed suppression of the Filipino people
“The New Peoples’ Army can concentrate on a superior force in order to strike the fascist units of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police, which are isolated, weak and tired, as a form of punishment for their crimes against the people,” Valbuena added.
The soldiers injured in the mine blast were part of an army unit involved in setting up a freshwater system in a community in Las Navas of Samar province.
“The attack occurred as we do our best to help former conflict-affected communities through our projects for civilians to achieve peace. It’s Christmas, the people in the area deserve water in their homes yet they [Communist rebels] staged an attack,” army colonel, Joemar Buban, told reporters on December 20.
As we celebrate the 500 years of Christianity in the Philippines. The Chaplaincy to Filipino Migrants organises an on-line talk every Tuesday at 9.00pm. You can join us at:
https://www.Facebook.com/CFM-Gifted-to-give-101039001847033
The NPA, which claimed responsibility for the blast, said they were authorised to launch tactical offensives against government forces despite the Christmas season.
The true gift that we can give to Christ on his birthday is peace. Let us not leave room for violence this month
Jane Roble
Government peace negotiators said after Sison’s death, that it would be “more difficult” to negotiate with the rebels.
“I think the problem now is within the organisation itself, there is difficulty to find its new leader. None of the remaining leaders—because many of them have already been neutralised—are of the same quality as Sison. So that’s a big problem for the underground organisation,” Philippine Armed Forces spokesman Medel Aguilar said.
With Sison gone, lawmakers believe government troops have an opportunity “crush” the group labeled a terrorist organisation in the Philippines.
“With Sison’s passing, the Communist Party may further weaken. They are like a flock of sheep without a shepherd so our troops must take advantage of this to neutralize the NPA,” a senator, Jinggoy Estrada, said on December 19.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines [CBCP] appealed for both sides to respect Christ’s birth by “behaving” according to his will.
“The true gift that we can give to Christ on his birthday is peace. Let us not leave room for violence this month,” Jane Roble, executive secretary of the CBCP Commission on Ecumenical Affairs, said.
The CPP was formed in 1968 and the NPA in 1969, whose leaders aim to overthrow the national government to seize power. Thousands of rebels, soldiers, and civilians have been killed in violence in the past decades.
