Military

New People's Army (NPA)

Fighting such as ambushes on soldiers has killed a total of some 30,000 people. The rebels say former Chinese Communist Party leader Mao Zedong inspired their movement. In the 1970s, China had met rebel requests for arms. But the Chinese government cut aid to the rebel group in 1970s under a deal with the government of Philippine ex-president Ferdinand Marcos. China’s Communist Party severed its own ties in 2011.

In an 08 December 2017 letter sent to Congress, President Rodrigo Duterte sought a one-year extension of martial law in the whole of Mindanao as he cited terror acts committed by armed groups, including the NPA. Duterte signed Proclamations 360 and 374, announcing the termination of talks with the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and declaring the CPP-NPA as designated terrorist organization, respectively. Duterte stressed that the NPA was a threat after it carried out at least 385 atrocities, which he described as "both terrorism and guerilla warfare," in Mindanao this year. He said the communists' recent acts merely proved that Mindanao continued to be a "hotbed of rebellion."

The Philippine government and communist rebels had agreed 12 March 2017 to resume peace talks and restore separate cease-fires. Presidential Adviser on Peace Process Jesus Dureza announced that the peace dialogue would proceed in the first week of April. The peace talks had been cancelled by President Rodrigo Duterte when the Communist Party of the Philippines, New Peoples Army, and National Democratic Front (CPP/NPA/NDF) ended its truce.

The unilateral ceasefire termination by the New People's Army (NPA) took effect 11 February 2017, 10 days after the communist rebels announced it was ending the 5-month ceasefire with the Philippine government. "All NPA commands and territorial units, as well as people’s militia and self defense units, can now take the full initiative to defend the people and advance their interests, especially in the face of the declaration of all-out war of the Duterte regime," NPA spokesperson Jorge "Ka Oris" Madlos said in a statement.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte declared a unilateral ceasefire with Maoist rebels on 25 July 2016, saying he wanted to end decades of hostilities with the communist guerrillas. "Let us end these decades of ambuscades and skirmishes. We are going nowhere and it is getting bloodier by the day," said Duterte on Monday, adding, "To stop violence on the ground (and) restore peace, I am now announcing a unilateral ceasefire." Making his first "State of the Nation Address" before Congress, Duterte said he wanted "permanent and lasting peace" with the guerillas before the end of his six-year term, which started on June 30. He urged rebel leaders to engage in efforts to restart peace talks. Negotiations had been underway between representatives of the government and rebels, with reports suggesting that a general agreement had been reached to resume peace talks.

Communist rebels stood firm on keeping the 4,000-strong New People’s Army even if they reach a peace agreement with the government, their chief negotiator said 29 September 2016. The NPA could “cooperate” with the military “in the service of the Filipino people,” said Luis Jalandoni, who heads the rebels’ peace panel. “We are firm on that. No disbandment, no disarmament because the NPA has been serving the people in so many ways,” he told a forum in Manila.

About 30,000 people had been killed since the communists started their insurgency in the Philippines in the 1960s. The military says the New People's Army, the communists' armed wing, has fewer than 4,000 gunmen, down from a peak of 26,000 in the 1980s.

The New People's Army (NPA) is the guerrilla arm of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), an avowedly Maoist group formed in December 1969 with the aim of overthrowing the government through protracted guerrilla warfare. There have reportedly been a number of CCP-NPA splits since the 1980s, resulting in its fragmentation into a number of armed factions.

Jose Maria Sison, the Chairman of the CPP’s Central Committee and the NPA’s founder, reportedly directed CPP and NPA activity from the Netherlands, where he lives in self-imposed exile. Luis Jalandoni, a fellow Central Committee member and director of the CPP’s overt political wing, the National Democratic Front (NDF), also lives in the Netherlands and has become a Dutch citizen.

Although primarily a rural-based guerrilla group, the NPA has an active urban infrastructure to carry out terrorism; uses city-based assassination squads called sparrow units. Derives most of its funding from contributions of supporters and so-called revolutionary taxes extorted from local businesses. NPA was in disarray because of a split in the CPP, a lack of money, and successful government operations. With the US military bases gone from the country, NPA engaged in urban terrorism against the police, corrupt politicians, and drug traffickers. Strength was estimated by the US government as of 2000 at several thousand. The Philippines government estimates there are 4,000 members.

The CPP/NPA primarily targeted Philippine security forces, government officials, local infrastructure, and businesses that refused to pay extortion, or “revolutionary taxes.” The CPP/NPA charged politicians running for office in CPP/NPA-influenced areas for “campaign permits.” Despite its focus on Philippine governmental targets, the CPP/NPA has a history of attacking U.S. interests in the Philippines. In 1987, the CPP/NPA conducted direct actions against U.S. personnel and facilities killing three American soldiers in four separate attacks in Angeles City. In 1989, the CPP/NPA issued a press statement claiming responsibility for the ambush and murder of Colonel James Nicholas Rowe, chief of the Ground Forces Division of the Joint U.S.-Military Advisory Group.

In 2002, the United States and the European Union placed the CPP and the CPP’s armed affiliate, the New People’s Army (“NPA”), on their lists of “foreign terrorist organizations.” As a result, the United States and European governments have frozen financial accounts linked to these groups and restricted travel of CPP and NPA members in the United States and the European Union. The Government and the National Democratic Front (“NDF”), a political organization closely aligned with the CPP and NPA, have held three rounds of peace talks in Oslo, Norway, since February 2004. However, sporadic fighting between the NPA and Armed Forces of the Philippines (“AFP”) continued.

The Government and the National Democratic Front (“NDF”), a political organization closely aligned with the CPP and NPA, have held three rounds of formal peace talks in Oslo, Norway, since February 2004. However, sporadic fighting between the NPA and AFP has continued and a fourth round of peace talks originally planned for August 2004 was postponed indefinitely by the NDF. The NDF has indicated it will not participate in further formal talks as long as it was designated a “terrorist organization” by the United States government. At the beginning of August 2005, in response to inconsistent statements by the NDF on its intentions to continue negotiations, the Government gave the NDF 30 days’ notice of its indefinite suspension of the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantee, which protects 97 members of the NDF from arrest.

Officials of the NDF and representatives of the Government commenced informal meetings in Oslo, Norway in August 2005. Effective September 3, 2005, the Government withdrew its notice regarding suspension of immunity guarantees to the NDF in an effort to resume formal peace talks. On September 5, 2005 the Government announced the resumption of formal talks scheduled for October 2005, the commitment of the parties to all previous agreements reached during the course of various negotiations since The Hague Joint Declaration of 1992, the Government’s withdrawal of the suspension of immunity guarantees, and an agreement to implement a nationwide joint cease-fire during and in connection with the formal peace negotiations. On September 8, 2005 the NDF issued a statement denying agreement was reached during the Oslo informal meetings and requiring the Government to satisfactorily address certain issues raised by the NDF before formal talks could resume. The NDF continues to condition its participation in peace negotiations with the Government upon withdrawal of its designation as a terrorist organization by the United States. In response to the NDF’s effective withdrawal from the peace negotiations, in October 2005, the Government announced the immediate suspension of immunity guarantees.

In early July 2006, members of the NDF requested the Government to resume peace talks and end the security operations against the NPA. NDF chairman, Luis Jalandoni, announced that members of the NDF had been dispatched to Norway for consultation with the Norwegian foreign ministry, which has been working as a mediator between the NDF and the Government for several years.

On July 5, 2006, the Government encouraged exiled leaders of the CPP and the NDF to show goodwill by agreeing to an immediate ceasefire and dropping their condition to the resumption of the negotiations that the European Union and the United States delist the CPP and NPA as terrorist organizations. The Government stated that if the exiled leaders agreed to its proposals, it would grant them safe passage to return to the Philippines; however, the peace negotiations between the Government and the NDF were not resumed.

On July 14, 2006, then President Arroyo signed Executive Order No. 546, which directs the PNP and local officials to actively support the AFP in joint military and police operations against communist rebel groups, and in 2007, the AFP outlined a three-year strategy to end the communist insurgency by the end of then President Arroyo’s term in 2010. However, following the implementation of the strategy, the military was criticized for alleged human rights violations and on November 26, 2007, the UN Human Rights Council, following its investigation into the deaths and disappearances of certain leftist leaders in the Philippines, announced its conclusion that the AFP had killed those leftist activists as part of a campaign against communist insurgents.

The UN Human Rights Council also concluded that the combat operations impeded the NDF’s and CPP’s willingness to participate in talks with the Government. In light of the criticism, in the latter part of then President Arroyo’s term, the AFP focused less on combat operations and more on information campaigns and development projects to counter civilian support for the NPA.

Although formal peace talks with communist-affiliated groups had been suspended since August 2004, the peace process proceeded through “informal engagements” that were designed to allow both parties to speak informally and with no pre-agreed agenda. As a result of the informal talks that occurred from May 13 to 15, 2008 and November 28 to 30, 2008, the Government, the NDF and the NPA agreed to work towards the resumption of formal talks.

The Government lifted the suspension of the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees on July 17, 2009 to allow members of the NPA to prepare for meetings scheduled in August 2009 in Norway; however, these meetings were cancelled due to disagreements between the parties over additional NDF conditions to the resumption of talks.

On December 14, 2010, ten soldiers from the AFP were killed in a raid by suspected members of the NPA in Northern Samar province. The AFP has also stated that NPA members fired at AFP troops on December 23, 2010 in violation of a ceasefire agreement that was to be effective between the Government and the NPA from December 16, 2010 to January 3, 2011. An NPA spokesperson refuted the AFP’s claim and accused AFP troops of launching their own attacks in violation of the ceasefire.

Despite these and other sporadic incidents involving the NPA, President Aquino’s administration resumed peace talks with the NPA and the CPP from February 15 to 21, 2011 in Oslo, Norway. Having resumed negotiations after more than six years of hostilities, the two sides announced that they had made progress in the meetings and had agreed to continue discussions and negotiations with the goal of achieving a formal peace agreement by 2012.

As of 2010 the group was reported to have a force of between 5000 and 9000 personnel and it claimed to have 120 fronts spread across nearly every province in the Philippines archipelago. The US Department of State reported that the NPA operates in rural Luzon, the Visayas and parts of northern and eastern Mindanao, in addition to maintaining cells in Manila and other metropolitan centres. The NPAs strength peaked in the mid-1980s when its armed regulars numbered 12,000, however, the end of the Marcos regime saw the groups’ popularity decline.

Negotiations again stalled in June 2011 due to the NDF’s unilateral refusal to engage in further talks until 13 of its agents are released from Government custody. Meanwhile, intermittent clashes continue, including an explosion from a landmine allegedly laid by the NPA that killed three AFP soldiers in late October 2011 and a firefight on December 16, 2011 in which five AFP soldiers were killed. On December 19, 2011, the CPP declared a ceasefire from December 31, 2011 to January 2, 2012, during which it pledged to refrain from further attacks on AFP soldiers. The Government had earlier declared a ceasefire from December 16, 2011 to January 2, 2012.

Under the administration of President Aquino, the Government remained open to the possibility of resuming the formal negotiations with the NDF, the NPA and the CPP at the appropriate time. The Government Negotiating Panel for Peace Talks has been reconstituted; however, the Government has indicated that the release from custody of the 13 NDF agents, as requested by the NDF, was unacceptable as a condition to resuming talks.

The Government, through the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process in coordination with concerned Government agencies, was simultaneously pursuing other modes of addressing the problems posed by rebel groups. These include implementing peace and development projects in conflict-affected communities to address the root causes of the insurgency; addressing human rights violations in relation to the conflict; implementing a formal agenda with respect to indigenous peoples; addressing the situation of internally displaced persons; enhancing the re-integration program for rebels returning to society; and laying an administrative framework for good governance in the ARMM. The Government constructed farm-to-market roads, school buildings and electrical and water facilities in an effort to improve conditions in many of the conflict-affected communities.

The NPA also conducts attacks on infrastructure (ie power facilities, telecommunication towers, and bridges) to enforce its demands. In 2013, the NPA was very active. The NPA targeted, attacked, damaged, and destroyed mining equipment and set buses on fire, among other incidents. The NPA also carried out complex and lethal attacks against the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on numerous occasions, killing and wounding several Filipino soldiers.

On 25 April 2016 the New People’s Army (NPA) released five police officers who had been held by the NPA since they were abducted last April 16 in Barangay Mapula, Paquibato District.

Mayor Rodrigo Duterte thanked the Communist Party of the Philippines (CCP) and the NPA for the release of the policemen and told his audience that if he wins in the May 9 elections, he will institute real changes in the agriculture sector and will help the people of Paquibato District. He promised to give farmers enough seedlings and farm animals and continue the government’s Pantawid aid program. In a ceremony held in a barangay basketball court, families of POWs and members of various religious groups were happy to see the captives released.

The Communist Party of the Philippines said it was interested in Rodrigo “Rody” Duterte’s vow to declare a ceasefire between the government and the New People's Army. In a statement released on 04 May 2016, the CPP said Duterte’s promise, if kept, will pave the way for the peace negotiations that it said the Arroyo and Aquino administrations have prevented since 2001.

“The Communist Party of the Philippines acknowledge with keen interest Mayor Rodrigo Duterte’s promise to immediately declare a ceasefire in order to pave the way for peace negotiations if ever he wins the upcoming presidential elections,” CPP said in its statement.

The group continued to intermittently attack communication and transportation infrastructure throughout the Philippines. The US Department of State reports the NPA primarily targets Philippine security forces, government officials, local infrastructure, and businesses that refuse to pay ‘revolutionary taxes’. The NPA was still actively targeting both Philippine military and corporate targets.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s government has stepped up its fight against the National People’s Army – the armed side of the rebel organization – since he declared an end to negotiations in 2017. His spokesman said the rebels used violence during earlier talks, while the rebel group’s founder criticized Duterte’s use of martial law in the restive Philippine southland.

Before the negotiations began, the National People’s Army, founded in 1968, had dwindled to about 4,000 combatants, down from a peak of some 17,000, according to domestic media reports. The affiliated communist party claims about 70,000 members. Now the group is getting somewhere in its newest push for money and people. The insurgency traditionally draws support in rural areas where their ideology appeals to poor people facing a perceived social inequality such as a lack of land reform.

The Communist Party of the Philippines-National People’s Army (CPC-NPA) continued recruiting ideologically aligned members at Philippine universities and in poor parts of the archipelago. The European Union had been accused of sending money through nonprofits to the National People’s Army. Some Catholic priests were helping, too, scholars say. This support gives the group more resources to resist the government, which stepped up its fight in 2017. China once helped arm the rebels but had stopped by 2011.