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AFP tells Reds: No need for holiday ceasefire

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ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Communist rebels celebrate the 49th founding anniversary of the Communist Party of the Philippines. Mark Saludes, ABS-CBN News/File" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/news/12/26/20171231-carlos-dominguez-dof-1.jpg"/><figcaption>Communist rebels celebrate the 49th founding anniversary of the Communist Party of the Philippines. <em>Mark Saludes, ABS-CBN News/File</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA — There&#x27;s no need for a holiday ceasefire with the Communist Party of the Philippines, as far as the Armed Forces of the Philippines is concerned.</p><p>Because of a &quot;leadership vacuum&quot; within the underground organization, there&#x27;s no guarantee that the communist rebels will comply, according to the AFP.</p><p>&quot;We are confident there’s no need for a ceasefire because we don’t know who to talk to. Many of their leaders have been neutralized,&quot; AFP spokesperson Col. Medel Aguilar told ANC&#x27;s &quot;Rundown&quot; Tuesday.</p><p>&quot;Second, if we are going to have a bilateral ceasefire with the CPP-NPA-NDF, how can they impose that provision of the ceasefire when there is a leadership vacuum within the underground organization?&quot; he added.</p><p>Due to AFP&#x27;s focused-military operations, the guerrilla fronts of the CPP and its armed wing, New People&#x27;s Army, have been &quot;reduced&quot; to 23 from 89.</p><p>&quot;That is why yesterday, it was declared that we have already achieved strategic victory over this armed group,&quot; Aguilar said. This means that the CPP-NPA are no longer capable of mounting large-scale offensive.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2386795" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div><p>What state troops can offer to the communist rebels, Aguilar said, is a suspension of military operations.</p><p>&quot;There’s no guarantee actually that the New People’s Army will comply because they don’t have leaders anymore. Many of these are already neutralized,&quot; he said.</p><p>&quot;That is the reason why, I said before, the most that we can offer is the suspension of military operations so that our forces, our troops can also enjoy the Christmas season with their families.&quot;</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/12/19/22/cpp-npa-wont-declare-holiday-ceasefire">CPP-NPA won&#x27;t declare holiday ceasefire</a></li></ul><p>The CPP earlier said it would not seek a ceasefire with state forces this holiday season following the death of its founder, Jose Maria Sison.</p><p>The NPA has been authorized to launch tactical offensives against government forces, it has said.</p><p>Sison, who launched one of the world&#x27;s longest-running Maoist insurgencies, passed away last week at age 83.</p><p>The former university professor died in the Netherlands, where he had lived in self-imposed exile since the collapse of peace talks in 1987.</p><p>But for Aguilar, the death of Sison will leave the CPP without &quot;sense of purpose and direction&quot;.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/12/17/22/cpp-founder-joma-sison-dies-at-83">Jose Maria Sison, founder of Communist Party of the Philippines, dies at 83</a></li></ul><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2387342" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

There's no need for a holiday ceasefire with the Communist Party of the Philippines, as far as the Armed Forces of the Philippines is concerned.