December 16, 2025
MANILA – The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) on Monday declared a four-day ceasefire for Christmas and New Year — an order which prompted the New People’s Army (NPA) to be on the defensive during this period.
The central committee of the Maoist communist ruling party will hold a ceasefire from 00:00 hours of December 25, 2025 to 23:59 hours of December 26, 2025; and 00:00 hours of December 31, 2025 to 23:59 hours of January 1, 2026.
“This temporary ceasefire order is being issued in solidarity with the Filipino people as they conduct simple celebrations of their traditional holidays amid grave social and economic conditions,” CPP information officer Marco Valbuena said in a statement.
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The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has yet to release a statement on CPP’s pronouncement.
Nevertheless, during the four days, Valbuena said the NPA rebels are ordered to be in “active defense mode” and to be on “high alert” against ground and aerial attacks of the AFP.
Aside from the commemoration of the holidays, Valbuena said the ceasefire is also to mark the 57th anniversary of the CPP on December 26, 1968.
CPP’s armed wing, NPA, was later established on March 29, 1969, waging the world’s longest Maoist insurgency to date.
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The total number of NPA members has dropped to around 780, far from its peak in 1987 when the Maoist guerrillas had up to 25,000 members, according to the anticommunist task force’s estimates, which Valbuena disputed without giving an exact estimate, citing strategic reasons.
As of this month, the National Amnesty Commission also said over 5,043 former NPA members have applied to local amnesty boards nationwide.
In 2023, the government and the CPP’s political wing, the National Democratic Front, agreed to a “principled and peaceful resolution of the armed conflict,” as stated in the Oslo Joint Communique.