NPA anniversary

After the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) was formed on Dec. 26, 1968, it immediately organized its military arm, the New People’s Army (NPA) on March 29, 1969 mostly from the remnants of the old Hukbong Mapagpalaya ng Bayan (HMB) in Luzon. As they say, the party without an army merged with the army without a party. That would be 48 years on Wednesday.

I was reminded of this when I looked for updates on the peace talks between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP). The last we heard was that the talks would resume and the two sides would declare their respective unilateral ceasefires. Days after, we still have to hear either side make good that promise.

Traditionally, and I don’t know if that has changed, NPA units would conduct tactical offensives on the weeks prior to its anniversary. This must be why Malacañang and the Armed Forces of the Philippines are complaining about alleged NPA attacks the past weeks. But that only serves to prove that peace negotiations are the way to end this decades-old rebellion.

Actually, I was amused early on when a top AFP official, before the resumption of the peace talks was announced, vowed to crush the NPA in only a few months. As I said before, the rebellion is rooted on societal problems that are breeding inequality, exploitation and oppression so that it can only be “crushed” if those societal problems are solved. No way could an armed offensive end it.

Besides, the CPP is the only group I know that is determined, well-disciplined, scientific and constantly learning from its mistakes. In this sense, its guidance of the NPA is what makes that armed group difficult to crush. Note how the Marcos dictatorship poured its resources in the effort to destroy both the communist and the Moro rebellions in the ‘70s. It failed miserably.

Consider that the operation of the CPP and the NPA, unlike for example those of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and even the Abu Sayyaf and Maute groups, are nationwide in scope. CPP organizations exist in majority of the regions in the country and all major islands in the country have NPA guerilla units.

I agree that the number of NPA armed regulars have drastically been reduced since its peak in the ‘80s or during the waning years of the Marcos dictatorship. But that is being negated by the fact that it operates nationwide. The logic of this has always been to spread thin the AFP , which has been tasked to end the rebellion. Government forces may be larger, but they are spread thinly.

What I am saying is that while NPA strength has weakened considerably from its heydays, it is still a force to reckon with after 48 years of existence. Its offensives can still hurt, which is probably the reason why the President, after issuing the “scorched earth” threat when he ordered the ending of the peace negotiations last month, has allowed the resumption of the talks.

That the NPA has survived government assaults for 48 years only means that the time is ripe to find other ways to end the rebellion.