Defense Secretary Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro Jr. on Wednesday said the government will not declare a ceasefire against the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) this holiday season.

“Any ceasefire with the CPP-NPA-NDF is a ceasefire against terrorists and criminals,” Teodoro said in a statement.

“It is a last-ditch measure of a Jurassic group to find relevance in the national political ecosystem,” he added.

Meanwhile, CPP-NPA spokesperson Marco Valbuena accused the military of imposing martial law in the countryside, blaming it for dismissing the holiday ceasefire.

“The Communist Party of the Philippines and the New People’s Army cannot declare a holiday ceasefire in the face of the Marcos regime’s relentless war of suppression, offensive military operations, and imposition of martial law in the countryside,” Valbuena said in a statement published on the CPP website.

Valbuena also accused the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) of spreading what he called disinformation.

“In its desperation to crush the people’s resistance, the AFP is presently undertaking military operations across the country against the Party and NPA,” he said.

“To boost its public image, the AFP has intensified its war of disinformation by making the ludicrous claim that the New People’s Army has only ‘one weakened’ guerrilla front. This is, however, belied by their own actions,” he added.

On Tuesday, AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla reported a 15-minute encounter between the Philippine Army’s 46th Infantry Battalion and the group of NPA leader Artemio Solayao, alias Budil, in Barangay Cawayan, Catbalogan City, Samar, on 13 December.

“The AFP leadership commends the operation as a vital step in ending insurgency in Eastern Visayas and encouraged CTG members to avail of the National Amnesty Program,” she said.

Padilla said the clash resulted in the recovery of a .45 caliber pistol and subversive documents from the CPP-NPA.