A PHILIPPINE court has dismissed a government petition to declare the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed guerilla wing a terrorist organisation, a decision that officials vowed to appeal but was welcomed by activists who have long rejected the labelling of rebels as terrorists.

Manila regional trial court Judge Marlo Magdoza-Malagar’s ruling, signed Wednesday, is a legal victory for activists and government critics and a setback for government officials, who have long accused left-wing organisations of covertly serving as legal fronts for the Maoist guerillas.

The court asked the government to fight the communist insurgency, one of Asia’s longest, with “respect for the right to dissent, to due process and to the rule of law.”