What is clear from this latest incident of truce violations is that the exiled CPP founder no longer has control of his men on the ground. The attacks showed that the NPA no longer listened to Sison.

Like the mean-spirited Grinch who stole Christmas, communist guerillas of the New People’s Army (NPA) only made a complete fool of themselves early this week when they attacked policemen and soldiers in separate occasions only hours after the government and the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) separately declared a ceasefire for the holiday season.

A soldier was killed and eight others were wounded in both attacks, treacherous as all other ambushes staged by the discredited group are.

The rebels’ contention that the attacks in Camarines Norte and Iloilo were far from each other and therefore could not be interpreted as deliberate violations of the truce simply don’t hold water. It’s untenable.

It only shows that the rebels cannot be trusted. It has happened in the past and we see no reason why we have to trust them now. Records show that the terrorist group has used past ceasefire declarations to regroup, recruit and restock. It has always taken advantage of a truce to bolster their crumbling movement which has been reeling from government-initiated surrender programs.

Aware of their track record, the military has not recommended a truce with the rebels for the Christmas and New Year holidays, but the government peace panel and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines, the umbrella organization of the local communist movement, have recommended a ceasefire from midnight of 23 December to midnight of 7 January 2020, which President Duterte approved.

The approval went with the reconstitution of the government negotiating panel, which means that there’s a big possibility that the stalled peace talks could resume once again.

“It’s a last shot at peace,” was how the peace panel described the truce declaration, saying it’s a confidence-building measure that could lead to the resumption of the peace talks.

But the military tend to disagree, knowing how the terrorist group has violated previous ceasefire agreements.

“I think the record will speak for itself. We have long been saying that we cannot trust the terrorist group NPA,” Brig. Gen. Edgard Arevalo was quoted as saying following the attacks. “These incidents only go to show that the terrorist group cannot be trusted.”

Nowhere is this distrust more evident than in Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, the President’s daughter, who had even asked the national government to exclude her jurisdiction from the ceasefire agreed upon by both panels, saying it would only mar the ongoing peace initiatives of the local government with the rebels in her area.

What is more revolting, however, was how exiled CPP founder Jose Maria Sibson defended the attacks, saying the government had failed to issue immediately the order for the suspension of offensive operations to the military and the police.

“The NPA attacked because it perceived the military and police movements as hostile,” he was quoted as saying.

In the absence of a written order to government forces, Sison pointed out that the CPP ceasefire order to the NPA was technically not yet effective.

The gall! No remorse and yet still blaming the government for the attacks? This Sison must be out of his mind. What is clear from this latest incident of truce violations is that the exiled CPP founder no longer has control of his men on the ground. The attacks showed that the NPA no longer listened to Sison.

We still don’t know how the President would react to these truce violations. If at all, it only confirmed once more the duplicitous character of the communist guerillas. Here we are trying to give peace one last chance and all we get is this treacherous undermining of all our efforts.

What the terrorist group doesn’t realize is that they are answerable to the people for the ceasefire violations. Their accountability is to the people whom they have pledged to serve.

Enough of this double talk, Sison and company. You just unleashed the beast in all of us. Pretty soon, the Grinch would have to be laid to rest.