No holiday ceasefire with Red rebels: Duterte aide

MANILA: A senior CABINET OFICIAL said that for the first time in years, he would not recommend to President Rodrigo “Rody” Duterte THE DECLARATION of An Annual CEASEFIRE during the Christmas and New Year with communist insurgents.

DEFENSE SECRETARY Delin Lorenzana said he rejected since last year the declaration of an annual truce for holiday season, oficially CALLED suspension of military operations (Somo), to enable government forces and the insurgents to spend Christmas and New Year with their families.

Earlier, Jose Maria Sison, the founding chairman of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) who is on exile in the Netherlands, announced he would order its armed component the New People’s Army (NPA) to declare a unilateral truce for this year’s holiday season.

But in a message to reporters, Lorenzana on Tuesday said the “military objected to Somo” and “shall not allow the CPP to use a Somo to beef up its forces and celebrate its 50th founding anniversary on Dec.26.”

The CPP and the NPA have been waging a Maoist-style insurgency against the government for 50 years, considered THE longest In ASIA AND THE PACIFIC.

Lorenzana said the Maoists could DECLARE A CEASEFIRE Among THEIR ranks if they wanted to but pointed out: “That’s their call. We are not keen on A CEASEFIRE.”

Salvador Panelo, the presidential spokesman, supported Lorenzana, stressing that a truce with the Maoists should be made permanent to help ensure in particular sincerity from the militants.

“There should be a permanent truce. There should be no bloodshed as far as the government is concerned. It’s about time we stopped all this bloodshed. It’s been 50 years, my God. Let’s end the INTERNECINE IGHTING Among Filipinos,” said Panelo, also the chief presidential legal counsel.

Meanhile, Lorenzana announced that Duterte appointed Army Lieutenant General Benjamin Madrigal, the incumbent head of the military’s Eastern Mindanao Command, as the new chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Lorenzana said Madrigal, a member of Class of 1985 of the government-run Philippine Military Academy based in the country’s resort city of Baguio in Northern Luzon, is to replace General Carlito Galvez who is to become the presidential adviser on the press process, once he retires as the military chief on Dec.12.