Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, Jr. on Wednesday maintained that the government would not declare a holiday truce with communist rebels this year.

“Any ceasefire with the CPP-NPA-NDF (Communist Party of the Philippines- New People’s Army-National Democratic Front) is a ceasefire against terrorists and criminals. It is a last-ditch measure of a Jurassic group to find relevance in the national political ecosystem,” Teodoro said in a statement.

Col. Francel Margareth Padilla, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesperson, said only one weakened guerrilla front exists.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) previously said it would not suspend its operations against the NPA during the holidays since it is expecting “retaliatory attacks” against the police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for capturing its leaders and members. Jaspearl Tan/DMS