The influx of people who went to attend the indignation rallies is an indication of the growing restiveness of people who have been wanting an end to this insurgency being espoused by the CPP

Heat of moment Rallyists burn a hammer and sickle flag at the Liwasang Bonifacio to condemn the duplicity of the Communist Party of the Philippines amid the restart of negotiations for peace. BOB DUNGO JR. @tribunephl_bob

During yesterday’s 51st anniversary of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) foresees the communist movement to eventually die a natural death.

The AFP said the party and its founding chairman, Jose Maria Sison, had lost their relevance.

The day was marked by simultaneous indignation rallies in various parts of Metro Manila –with participants calling for the arrest of Sison.

Simultaneous indignation rallies were held at the Bonifacio Shrine in Caloocan City; EDSA in Ortigas; Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City; Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila, and near the Baclaran church in Parañaque City.

The participants were one in denouncing the CPP and its armed wing the New People’s Army (NPA) as terrorist groups.

They also branded Sison as murderer and called for his arrest.

Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo added the latest attacks of CPP’s armed wing NPA have prompted President Rodrigo Duterte to demand an explanation from the communist movement.

“We condemn, of course, the violation of the ceasefire agreement. You must remember that it was them who declared a unilateral ceasefire. And that has also been violated. Then, there has been a violation,” Panelo told Palace reporters in an interview.

“Nevertheless, we are giving them the chance to explain why it has committed such violation. And since the President has always been open, giving a little window to the pursuit of peace, he will wait for the explanation coming from them,” he added.

The holiday truce between the government forces and the communist guerillas took effect on 23 December and will end at 11:59 p.m. on 7 January 2020.

Maj. Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr., deputy chief of staff for civil military operations of the AFP and spokesman of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), said the rallies were clear indication of the Filipinos’ despise of the communist group.

“The influx of people who went to attend the indignation rallies is an indication of the growing restiveness of people who have been wanting an end to this insurgency being espoused by the CPP. Clearly the people know that this fight cannot be won by government alone,” Parlade said.

“It has to be a whole of nation and this time the people are getting involved. They know they cannot stay neutral. They have to make a stand, especially now that they know about these fake advocates of peace, of human rights, and of children and indigenous peoples rights,” he added.

Parlade stressed that “50 years of deceit by the CPP and their minions, especially the Kamatayan Bloc, is enough. There cannot be a 52nd CPP Anniversary. They know this violence of the CPP-NPA has to end now.”

For his part, AFP spokesman BGen. Edgard Arevalo said in a statement that the CPP-NPA is now irrelevant.

“We should mourn the more than five decades of the CPP’s despotic schemes and evil designs that have destroyed the future of many of our children, ruined the fibers of Filipino family values, prevented economic growth, and divided our nation,” Arevalo said.

“The CPP that Sison founded has lost relevance in a world that has rejected communism. It has become insignificant in a nation governed by strong political will to end insurgency that is bereft of any ideology,” he added.

Arevalo went further by stating that there is nothing laudable about the causes the CPP-NPA-NDF have been fighting for in the last half century, as the Reds “has been fooling many of our people” and that they have already “been widely rejected by most Filipinos in the countryside.”

The official cited the Duterte administration’s whole-of-government approach in addressing communist insurgency in the country which could be attributed to the number of surrenders of former rebels to security forces.

Among the initiatives being implemented by the government, paved by the President Rodrigo 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 assistance, education, housing and legal assistance to help them in their reintegration to mainstream society.

“The CPP should heed the writings on the wall. The people have awakened and support the NTF-ELCAC anchored in good governance that the AFP helps foster,” noted Arevalo.

“It will not be long until the CPP dies a natural death,” he concluded.

Meanwhile, Philippine Army chief Lt. Gen. Gilbert Gapay blasted the NPA for blindsiding soldiers in Labo, Camarines Norte last 23 December.

The troops belonging to the 92nd Division Reconnaissance Company were on their way back to their base following their receipt of a directive for the Suspension of Military Operations after the President ordered a unilateral ceasefire over the weekend.

Gapay likewise condemned the insurgents for using a landmine in the attack that left one soldier dead and six others wounded which he said was a violation of the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law and also goes against the just-issued holiday truce.

Shortly after the said ambush, the rebels attacked anew, this time against policemen conducting routine patrol in Tubungan, Iloilo that left a policeman and one soldier wounded.

“We are one with the government and the people’s desire to a just and lasting peace in the entire country. In light of this development, other means of peaceful resolution such as localized peace talks need to be considered,” Gapay stated.

“We just hope that the CPP-NPA will not miss this opportunity by staging these senseless attacks, especially during a time when the nation celebrates the season of love, peace and unity,” he added.