BY RUBY SILUBRICO & JEN BAYLON
ILOILO City – The Philippine Army’s 3rd Infantry Division (3ID) has been placed on “blue alert” for the 55th founding anniversary of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) today.
Lieutenant Colonel J-Jay Javines, spokesperson of the 3ID, said the Army troops in Western and Central Visayas are on standby mode and ready for deployment in case of emergencies despite CPP’s declaration of a two-day ceasefire from Dec. 25 to 26.
“We would not be complacent despite the ceasefire. We have men in areas especially in places where there is presence of the rebels,” Javines said.
The CPP, he said, usually marks its anniversary with attacks against the police and military carried out by its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA).
Javines added their troops will continue to patrol and monitor to prevent any illicit activities by the rebels amid reports of ongoing hostilities by some factions not adhering to the ceasefire.
For his part, 3ID commander Major General Marion Sison reminded his men especially in Negros province and Central Visayas to tighten their security measures and watch over their offices.
“Mas mabuti kung nakahanda tayo. Our men are in their area of assignment and we have standby personnel for augmentation in case kailangan ang tao,” Sison said.
Meanwhile, the Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6) is also on alert and has beefed up its security especially in vital installations.
The PRO-6 has also intensified its intelligence monitoring and maximized defense posture.
On Dec. 24, the CPP ordered the NPA to lay down its arms for two days, from 12:01 a.m. on Christmas Day to 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 26, to mark the group’s 55th anniversary.
The ceasefire announcement came a month after the Nov. 23 signing by the government and the CPP’s political arm, the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), of the Joint Statement in Oslo, Norway, agreeing in principle to end Asia’s longest armed struggle since the previous Duterte government terminated peace talks in 2017.
It was also the first holiday truce declared by the insurgents since December 2019, which was still marked by sporadic violence, and the first unilateral ceasefire since the period from March 26, 2020 to April 30, 2020, in response to the United Nations’ call for a global armistice during the COVID-19 pandemic. (With a report from the Philippine Daily Inquirer)/PN
