Getting rid of Reds

Among the less trumpeted achievement of President Rodrigo Duterte was placing insurgency under control, which is a task that has not been achieved by other administrations.

A combination of political will and a determination to put the sovereign interest above all had led to the marginalization of the communist guerillas whose campaign to take over power had plagued the nation for decades.

Recently, the Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC) passed a resolution designating the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDF) as a terrorist group, which was significant, since other nations including the United States have long labeled the NDF as a terrorist group, while the Philippines where it exercises its duplicity had balked on the designation.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said issuing the resolution would “justify and enable the defense sector to move forward in its efforts to address internal security concerns.”

The security issue has long been a thorn on the side of the government, which has launched a long-winded campaign to sue for peace. However, this only ends up being exploited by the revolutionary movement, which adroitly uses the peace interregnum to consolidate and build up its forces.

Mr. Duterte, who is street smart regarding the game plans of those engaged in armed struggle, knew that whenever he calls for peace negotiations, the rebels are provided space to grow stronger.

The NDF continued to “lure and recruit people” to join its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA), Lorenzana said, adding that the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), through its own public media releases and documents, admitted to the NDF’s direct role in its armed operations.

“The NDF’s key organization Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing New People’s Army continue to launch attacks against the Filipino people, victimizing innocent civilians and destroying billions’ worth of crucial public infrastructure for a principle that has long since been rendered obsolete,” Lorenzana said.

The concept of a socialist revolution has long been discarded by countries where it originated, such as China and European nations, which all have embraced the necessity of capitalist orientation that benefits their economies.

The ATC has found “probable cause” warranting the NDF’s terrorist group designation, citing the statement of CPP founder Jose Ma. Sison who identified the CPP-NPA as one of the allied organizations of the NDF.

“His wife, Juliet de Lima-Sison was also recently named as the Interim Chairperson of the NDF negotiating panel. The couple were both designated as terrorists under ATC Resolution 17 earlier this year,” Lorenzana said.

Even former communist insurgents have shifted support as former members of the defunct Alex Boncayao Brigade and the Cordillera Peoples’ Liberation Army even recently commended the progress of the Duterte administration’s “Whole of the Nation Approach” to finally end the 52-year-old armed struggle.

Under the strategy adopted by President Duterte, negotiations for peace were initiated in particular regions instead of the high-profile negotiations where government and rebel panels are created to talk for peace.

Proof that the rebellion had degenerated into banditry was the use of antipersonnel mines, which the civilized had long banned as a brutal tool of war, since they also usually take the lives of non-combatants.

Effectively, Filipinos have worried less about the existence of terror groups even in the hinterlands, unlike in the past when many parts of the countries were considered under the influence of rebels, which even state forces had no choice but to recognize, since such designations are part of the ground rules in the distorted definition of conciliation.

“Recently, the AntiTerrorism Council passed a resolution designating the National Democratic Front of the Philippines as a terrorist group.

“The security issue has long been a thorn on the side of the government which has launched a long-winded campaign to sue for peace.