No more active NPA guerrilla fronts – President Marcos

Fight vs internal terrorists a success

MANILA, Philippines — With no more active communist guerrilla fronts as reported by the military, the government can now claim success in its fight against local terrorism, President Marcos said yesterday.

In a video message posted on Facebook, Marcos attributed the gains in the campaign against armed threats to the vigorous operations of security forces and to the coordination among defense and intelligence agencies.

“Now, we can report that there are no more active NPA (New People’s Army) guerrilla fronts as of December 2023. We will continue to fight for this,” Marcos said.

“The performance of the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) is good. The performance of the police is good and the coordination of the SND (secretary of national defense), the Department of National Defense and all our intelligence agencies is good. They are working together, that’s why our campaign against internal terrorism is a success,” he added.

Presidential Communications Secretary Cheloy Garafil clarified that having zero guerrilla fronts means there are no more active NPA strongholds, but there are still communist rebels.

In his post, Marcos said the government was able to neutralize 1,399 members of communist and local terrorist groups in 2023.

A total of 1,751 firearms were captured, recovered or surrendered during the period, the President added.

Earlier this month, the AFP reported that there are no more active guerrilla NPA fronts because of its intense and focused military operations. The NPA is the armed wing of communist rebels.

The military added that it was able to dismantle eight and weakened 14 communist guerrilla groups last year.

Last December, nine NPA members were killed in a series of clashes in Bukidnon.

Government forces recovered eight high-powered firearms, assorted ammunition and personal belongings after the armed encounters, the Philippine Army said.

At a recent press briefing, National Security Council assistant director general Jonathan Malaya claimed that the NPA is now at its weakest in its 55 years of existence, saying the number of its combatants has gone down to less than 1,500.

Last November, the government and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) signified their readiness to go back to the negotiating table to settle their decades-old conflict peacefully.

In their joint statement issued in Oslo last Nov. 23, the Marcos administration and the NDFP, the political arm of the Communist Party of the Philippines, agreed to seek a “principled and peaceful” resolution to the conflict by addressing its root causes. 

Officials have expressed hope that a final peace agreement that would end the longest-running Maoist rebellion in Asia is doable under the Marcos administration.

After cozying up with the communists during the early part of his term, former president Rodrigo Duterte terminated his peace initiatives with the rebels, citing their “acts of violence and hostilities” and their supposed push for a power-sharing set-up that is against the Constitution.

Marcos earlier described the decision to start fresh talks with the rebels as a “bold” and “meaningful” step towards reconciliation and unity.