Shrinking space

In time, the insurgency problem will be resolved as more Filipinos are now pushing back against the opportunistic efforts of the revolutionary movement.

In his recent State of the Nation Address (SoNA), President Rodrigo Duterte defended the much-maligned National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTFELCAC) and stated that it was instrumental in resolving the root causes of the armed conflict.

“NTF-ELCAC had made great strides in addressing the root causes of this conflict by empowering our countrymen who have been used by the communists for so many decades,” he said during his final SoNA.

Through the NTF-ELCAC, President Duterte said the government has pushed efforts to build safe and conflict-free barangays.

Aside from the task force’s successes in reducing the armed conflict, the body has provided infrastructure and other development projects in communities ravaged by insurgencies, such as investing in farm-to-market roads, school buildings, water and sanitation systems, health stations and livelihood projects.

“We have worked toward the sustainable rehabilitation and development of communities where the communists used to operate,” President Duterte said.

Mr. Duterte said that through the NTF-ELCAC, over 17,000 former rebels, comprising members of the New People’s Army (NPA) and the Militia ng Bayan, had surrendered to the government.

Filipinos living abroad also woke up to the reality of the malignancy from the anarchic group led by Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) chair Joma Sison.

Filipino-Americans in New York, for instance, called on the CPP-NPA to halt its recruitment and fundraising activities in the United States.

The Filipino-Americans Against Crime and Terrorism (FACT) made the appeal apparently irked by a political action outside the Philippine Consulate General in New York on 11 June, or the eve of the 123rd Philippine Independence Day.

The assailed protesters were members of left-wing Bayan-USA, Anakbayan-USA, Migrante-USA and Malaya Movement.

FACT noted that aside from denouncing the government, the group also called for the overthrow of President Rodrigo Duterte. The youth groups also demanded the United States government to stop military support for the Philippines attesting to their underlying motive.

Also in the rally, a speaker started extolling the CPP-NPA, saying the communist guerillas are the true heroes of Filipinos, which is a blatant deception.

“We are aghast at the audacity of groups praising the CPP-NPA. They did this in open defiance of the US government, which is one of several countries that had designated the CPP-NPA as a terrorist organization,” FACT added.

The Fil-Ams were worried that CPP-NPA cadres who have been marginalized in the country are now actively operating in the US.

“These CPP-NPA cadres are right here in our midst. They are actively recruiting members and sympathizers from the Filipino-American community and raising funds to support their goal of overthrowing the government through armed struggle. In case the Filipino-American community is not aware, the ultimate objective of the CPP-NPA is to install a communist dictatorship in the Philippines,” the group said.

FACT said the US-based members of Bayan, Anakbayan and Migrante have been trying to convince the Filipino-Americans to support them through deception.

“These CPP-NPA cadres conveniently omit the fact that communist terrorists in the Philippines have been involved in some of the worst atrocities committed against the Filipino people in the past five decades,” the group said.

CPP-NPA committed 1,506 atrocities against civilians and police and military personnel from 2010 to 2020, according to the Center for Law of Armed Conflict of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

The cruel acts included the killing of 77 soldiers and 296 civilians, as well as 532 violent incidents that resulted to damage of property.

It took a long time for the true character of the rebellion to be unmasked, which happened only under a strong political will to finally end the 50-year scourge inflicted on Filipinos.

“NTF-ELCAC had made great strides in addressing the root causes of this conflict by empowering our countrymen who have been used by the communists for so many decades.

“Filipinos living abroad also woke up to the reality of the malignancy from the anarchic group led by Communist Party of the Philippines chair Joma Sison.