Both the government and the CPP have categorically indicated willingness to reopen the peace process that was abandoned mid-way in 2017

On January 30, Randy Felix Malayao, a peace consultant of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDF), was shot dead by unknown assassins. He was involved in negotiations between the NDF and the Rodrigo Duterte government

The third extension to martial law was approved by parliament on December 12 and seeks to “combat ‘extremists,’ specifically the banned Maoist group, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), and its extended guerila and political apparatus.”