Membership of the Communist Party of the Philippines in the central region in Mindanao rose by 47 percent this year, coinciding the 47th year of the CPP, the longest running Maoist revolution in Asia.
Presidential and vice-presidential tandem Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and Senator Alan Peter Cayetano warned this year as the last Christmas for criminals and corrupt.
A paramilitary-group accused of killings and threatening indigenous peoples in Mindanao has allegedly issued a threat against members of the media who will be covering the anniversary of the Communist Party of the Philippines on Saturday.
The Philippine Ecumenical Peace Platform (PEPP) called on the government and the National DemocraticFront (NDF) to resume peace talks this Yuletide season.
Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte said he hopes every Filipino to have a “merry Christmas and a peaceful new year.”