The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) should seek remorse and ask for forgiveness to the Filipino people as the group celebrates its 52nd anniversary Saturday, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said.

Major Gen. Edgard Arevalo, AFP spokesperson, said the CPP has "nothing to celebrate" since they only caused murder, pillage, arson, and extortion, among other crimes, against Filipinos for over five decades now.

These, he noted, only brought "indescribable pain and misery" to their fellowmen.

"Those are enough reasons for them to seek forgiveness from our people who now have largely rejected them," Arevalo said.

The CPP had earlier said that it would hold "simple but joyous" activities in the rural areas and cities to mark their founding anniversary amid continuous offensives from the military.

President Duterte earlier rejected the declaration of a holiday ceasefire with the communists, citing their "insincerity" in the past years when communist insurgents attacked government troops while on a truce.

Arevalo advised the CPP to reflect on their acts and think about their ideologies, which, according to him, were already "lost."

"On the CPP announcement that it will celebrate 'simple but joyous' 52nd anniversary, they might as well add 'remorseful' to their uneventful activity," he said.

Arevalo vowed that the military, under the leadership of chief of staff Gen. Gilbert Gapay, will continue its unrelenting operations until all communist groups are "finished" before the end of President Duterte's term in 2022.

"The firm backing of local chief executives and agencies in local government and the strong support of the people in the communities and villages make our operations immensely successful, and the decline of this CTG (communist-terrorist group) imminent and irreversible," he said.