Bacolod City – The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) announced that it will forego the declaration of a ceasefire this holiday season, as it sees no reason to do so.
Kim Acosta, spokesperson of the Negros Island revolutionary movement, said there is “absolutely no reason to declare a ceasefire,” citing a statement issued by the CPP.
Acosta added that the Central Committee ordered the New People’s Army (NPA), through its National Operational Command (NOC) and Regional and Subregional Operational Commands (ROCs and SROCs), to actively fight and frustrate the AFP’s campaign of armed suppression.
Maj. Gen. Benedict Arevalo, acting commander of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Visayas Command, earlier said normal security operations against the NPA will continue during the yuletide season, as he did not receive any orders for the suspension of military operations.
The CPP, founded by Jose Maria Sison, who recently passed away on December 16 in Netherlands, marks its 54th anniversary on the 26th of the month.
Acosta said that NPA units can concentrate a superior force of the AFP and Philippine National Police, which are “isolated, weak and tired,” as a form of punishment for their crimes against the people.
Brig. Gen. Inocencio Pasaporte, 303rd Infantry Brigade commander, however, maintained that the NPA in Negros could no longer afford to conduct terroristic activities during the CPP anniversary because they are now constantly “on the run” due to continuous military operations against them.
We will sustain that trend, to ensure that there will be no terror activities during the yuletide season celebrations, Pasaporte said.
Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson hopes that the successor of Sison will not be a “hardliner, open to the peace process, and will not consider armed struggle as the only option.”
“We’re just hoping that this will be a reason to really give peace a chance,” Lacson said. (Gilbert Bayoran via The Visayan Daily Star (TVDS), photo courtesy of TVDS)