The Armed Forces of the Philippines sees the declaration of a unilateral ceasefire by the Communist Party of the Philippines as "meaningless," as it supposedly has lost its hold on its armed component, the New People's Army.
AFP spokesperson Col. Medel Aguilar said on Tuesday the CPP and NPA and their political party, the National Democratic Front of the Philippines, appeared to be "headless."
Thus, Aguilar said, any pronouncements coming from the central committee were "empty statements."
"It's actually meaningless for various reasons. Number one, the CPP-NPA-NDF doesn't have direct leadership at the national level," Aguilar said in English and Filipino.
"So we are wondering why the central committee can still issue such a statement when they are already scattered," added Aguilar, referring to the CPP's issuance of a unilateral ceasefire on 25 and 26 December.
The military mouthpiece insisted that the communist armed wing had been weakened, saying the CPP-NPA-NDF was not capable of launching large-scale hostile actions due to the mass surrender of its members.
At least 3,400 NPA rebels surrendered to the government from January to November this year, Aguilar said.
About 95 percent of the CPP-NPA's guerrillas were neutralized during the encounters, including nine who were killed last Christmas Day in Malaybalay, Bukidnon.
The military forces had also recovered high-powered firearms and improvised explosive devices, weakening the rebels even more.
"They are no longer able to perform their mission, which is to recruit new members and generate resources, and they no lender have a mass base, not even support from the communities," Aguilar said.
He noted that the CPP-NPA-NDF's extortion and intimidation in the communities they had infiltrated were "insignificant" nowadays.
"The truth is their forces are already decimated, they are already scattered, and they are weakened. The CPP-NPA has lost its capacities," he said.