3-1-2024 (MANILA) The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) declares the New People’s Army (NPA) as “strategically defeated” after successfully dismantling its active guerrilla fronts across the country. According to AFP spokesman Col. Medel Aguilar, the NPA, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), is no longer capable of executing programs for recruitment, resource generation, and establishing a united front against the government.
The AFP’s focused military operations have resulted in the neutralization of 67 high-value individuals associated with communist and local terrorist groups. As of December, there are reportedly no active guerrilla fronts of the Communist Terrorist Group (CTG). Last year, the military dismantled eight NPA guerrilla fronts and weakened 14 others, leading to the neutralization of 1,399 members and the recovery of 1,751 firearms.
Col. Xerxes Trinidad, AFP public affairs office chief, highlighted the impact of military operations, stating that the remaining NPA members are now weak, scattered, and on the run. The AFP urges them to lay down their arms and return to the legal fold.
Col. Aguilar referenced the Joint Oslo Communiqué, a joint statement signed in the Norwegian capital by the Philippine government and the National Democratic Front (NDF), where both parties agreed on a “principled and peaceful resolution of the armed conflict” by addressing its underlying causes.
Aguilar emphasized that, to save lives, especially those of hungry and exhausted NPA members, the CPP-NPA-NDF should exhibit the moral courage to end the armed struggle as outlined in the agreement.
