15-day holiday ceasefire ends today

MANILA, Philippines — As the 15-day holiday truce declared by the government and the communist group ends today, renewed hostilities between military troops and the New People’s Army (NPA) are expected in the countryside.

As soon as the clock strikes midnight, the military will resume offensive operations against communist rebels, Brig. Gen. Edgard Arevalo, spokesman for the military said yesterday.

“They can expect the combat operations to resume with more intensity and focus,” Arevalo said.

He said the military favors the ongoing talks with rebels on the local level, a track that the government pursued when President Duterte ordered the termination of peace negotiations with the National Democratic Front (NDF) more than a year ago.

Arevalo said while the AFP gives primacy to the peace process and would submit to the guidance of the commander-in-chief, government security forces are for localized peace talks, given their success owing to the national task force on ending local communist armed conflict.

The ceasefire between the rebels, through the Communist Party of the Philippines, and the government took effect on Dec. 23 to pave the way for the possible resumption of talks between communist leaders based in the Netherlands and the Duterte administration.

Arevalo said the government “lost” in the unilateral ceasefire that was observed, given the atrocities committed by the other side while the truce was in effect.

He cited the killing of a soldier and the wounding of six others in Labo, Camarines Norte on Dec. 23 when NPA guerrillas ambushed the troopers as they were returning to camp in observance of the ceasefire.

“At about 7:30 a.m. of same day, NPA rebels detonated an improvised explosive device they laid for the policemen in Tubungan, Iloilo. Two policemen were wounded and the police car was damaged,” Arevalo said.

He said “the people lost too” during the ceasefire, noting the three attacks perpetrated by the rebels against civilians on Dec. 30.

“Soldiers thwarted the attack, thereby neutralizing two and wounding two from the attackers. However, a soldier and a CAFGU active auxiliary were wounded in action,” he said.

“Two murders of tribal leaders for refusing to follow the evil dictates of the members of terrorist group NPA were recorded,” Arevalo said, noting the killings of Bontola Mansinugdan of the Higaynon Tribe in Esperanza, Agusan del Sur, and Sammy Diwangan of the Umayamnon tribe in Cabanglasan, Bukidnon.

Condemned

Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Carlito Galvez yesterday condemned the recent spate of attacks perpetrated by the NPA against the Filipino people.

Galvez issued the statement in reaction to the killing of Diwangan.

Citing reports, Galvez said Diwangan was opposed to the NPA’s recruitment activities in the community.

He said that in Surigao del Sur, the rebels seized Taloy Astudillo and another Manobo identified only by his family name Bibat in Barangay Magroyong, San Miguel town last month.

Galvez said that on Dec. 30, around 30 heavily armed rebels set fire to an indigenous people’s livelihood center in Barangay Panansalan in Compostela, Compostela Valley. 

“Clearly, these acts of terrorism are meant to instill fear, anger and hatred in the hearts and minds of the people, particularly among our lumad brothers and sisters,” Galvez said, adding the attacks run counter to the cessation of hostilities declared between the communist group and the government during the holiday season.

He said with the ceasefire agreement, the Duterte administration opened a window of opportunity in which the stalled peace negotiations with NDF could move forward.

“However, we cannot talk peace when there is a lack of sincerity from the other party. The government had already walked the extra mile not once but several times as a sign of goodwill,” Galvez said.

He said that aside from the Yuletide ceasefire they issued, there has to be another concrete sign of reciprocity from the other side. 

“First, the killings must stop. We cannot sit across the negotiating table if innocent civilians continue to be slaughtered and government troops are perennially being ambushed,” he said.

Galvez said the insurgents must set aside their weapons and cease from carrying out other acts of lawlessness such as extortion, rape and destruction of public and private facilities. 

“For the peace negotiations to happen, there is a need to create a conducive environment, where both parties can face each other, confident that each one will keep their word and, most importantly, no innocent lives will be lost. In short, we must walk our talk,” Galvez added.

Duterte has expressed willingness to talk with CPP-NPA founding chairman Jose Maria Sison here in the country. 

Galvez said the ball is now in the hands of Sison and the rest of the NDF leadership. 

He said this is now an opportunity for Sison to show to his followers – and to the rest of the Filipino people – his honest desire to find a peaceful, long-lasting solution to the communist insurgency. 

Galvez said the CPP-NPA-NDF should realize that their outdated ideology is fast losing support. 

He said the government’s position is clear: to put an end to the long-standing armed conflict through the demobilization of the armed group of the insurgents. 

He said that if the leadership of the communist group cannot reciprocate the sincerity shown by the government, then there is no reason for the government to engage Sison since he himself has no moral high ground to demand such recognition.

“Too much blood has been spilled in this armed rebellion that has lasted more than five decades, spanned several administrations and claimed the lives of thousands of innocent civilians,” Galvez said.  – Jose Rodel Clapano, Rhodina Villanueva