Mr. Duterte usually follows the recommendation of the people on the ground. He has not made any comment on that so I suppose.

Hammer and sickle is losing its appeal in the countrysides. AFP

The prospect of guns going silent during the Yuletide Season is unlikely as President Rodrigo Duterte is inclined to follow the recommendation of the Department of National Defense (DND) not to declare a suspension of military operations against the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA).

While Malacañang is yet to make any official announcement, Chief Presidential Legal Counsel and spokesman Salvador Panelo noted that the President usually follows the recommendation of the “people on the ground.”

Earlier, the DND and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) had expressed their intention not to declare a ceasefire during the Christmas season.

Even Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año rejected the idea of a Christmas truce with the communist group and instead urged rebels to return to their “peaceful” civilian lives.

“He (Mr. Duterte) usually follows the recommendation of the people on the ground. He has not made any comment on that,” Panelo said.

The military had said declaring a “holiday truce” may prove to be disadvantageous — as it can be used as a platform for the NPA to pursue their recruitment activities and atrocities as they did in the past.

In spite of this, Panelo stressed that the door for peace is always open but the President will never allow enemies of the state to conduct atrocities against state forces and the people.

“Not necessarily because the President, as we always hear him, he always leaves a space, the window ajar for any peace negotiation with them,” Panelo said.

“But he will not allow the attacks, the assaults against our forces that is why if they attempt to do that, the order is to crush them,” he added.

During the 84th founding anniversary of the AFP last Tuesday, the Commander in Chief directed the military to crush all terrorist groups including the NPA, Abu Sayyaf group and kidnap-for-ransom groups who continue to conduct terror activities in the country.

Panelo also pointed out the President’s sincerity in striking a peace deal with the CPP-NPA.

“The President has always been sincere. He always opens talks. But the problem with the other side is they keep on attacking our forces. So, you cannot be standing, sitting idly and watch them terrorize or kill our own people, he added.

In fact, Mr. Duterte appointed three left-leaning officials to his Cabinet during the early part of his administration.

Panelo also said that if CPP founding chairman Jose Maria Sison is sincere with having a dialogue with government, the place where the talks would be held should not be an issue at all.

“According to Joma Sison, if it’s here, he doesn’t want it. But as far as we are concerned, if you are sincere, venue is not important,” Panelo said.

The President recently expressed his openness to resume the peace negotiations with the CPP-NPA. Mr. Duterte last April suspended all talks with the communist group after at least three formal talks between the negotiating panels of the government and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines.

Four high-ranking leaders of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) under the Islamic State-linked faction of Ismael Abubakar, alias commander “Bungo,” meanwhile, surrendered in Maguindanao.

Those who surrendered were Ibrahim Odin, BIFF’s 3rd Brigade commander; his 1st Battalion commander Diya Musa; Daud Paglas, administrative officer of 1st Battalion, and Yasser Abunawas, son of Abunawas Damiyog and operation officer, 1st Battalion.

The four were under the command of Abubakar, one of the founding leaders of the BIFF after breaking away from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in 2010 and has, in recent years, adopted the radical ideology of the IS for his BIFF faction.

The BIFF leaders yielded to the Army’s 34th Infantry Battalion in Barangay Indatuan, Northern Kabuntalan on Thursday.

They surrendered one Barrett rifle, an M16 rifle, one rocket-propelled grenade, an improvised explosive device and pieces of ammunition.

Maj. Gen. Diosdado Carreon, commander of the military’s Joint Task Force Central, stressed that the government’s doors remain open for other BIFF members or any rebel group who want to return to the folds of the law.

“The military encourages even hardcore fighters to surrender to government troops for a chance to rebuild their lives as we are serious in extending peaceful mechanisms to those who contemplate to turn themselves in,” Carreon said.

For his part, Western Mindanao Command chief Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana said the peaceful surrender of the BIFF leaders is proof of the government’s success in its localized efforts in addressing the armed conflict in Mindanao.

Such initiatives, paved by the President Duterte’s issuance of Executive Order 70 last year, include the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program where former members of communist and terror groups receive benefits like financial aid, livelihood assistance, medical, education, housing and legal assistance to help them in their reintegration to mainstream society.