After President Rodrigo Duterte rejected a holiday ceasefire, the police and military are ready for potential attacks from communist rebels through Christmas and New Year, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon said on Wednesday.

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) earlier Wednesday allowed its armed wing to “carry out tactical offensives especially against attacking troops of the enemy, particularly those who have perpetrated massacres and extrajudicial killings and who are notorious for grave abuses and violations of human rights.”

Esperon said, reacting to the CPP threat in a public briefing, “Kung mayroon mang banta ang CPP-NPA ay ano ba ang bago? Dati naman silang nand’yan na, mayroong mga armas.”

Esperon added,
“We should be prepared for that. Kung mayroon silang gagawing kaguluhan, nakahanda ang ating mga tropa.”