Armed Forces of the Philippines logo. INQUIRER FILES
MANILA, Philippines 鈥� Only one 鈥渨eakened鈥� New People鈥檚 Army (NPA) guerrilla front is left in the country, according to Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesperson. Col. Francel Margareth Padilla.
In a press briefing on Tuesday, Padilla said the NPA, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), is no longer capable of 鈥渟taging major operations.鈥�
鈥淔rom the start of the year, we started with seven weakened guerilla fronts. Now we鈥檙e down to one and we鈥檙e well within targets,鈥� she said.
鈥淎s they have already been weakened, they are no longer capable of staging major operations. They also have a leadership vacuum and they are not capable of recruiting additional personnel to their ranks,鈥� she added.
A weakened guerrilla front means it can no longer implement its programs like recruitment and generating resources for the armed struggle as opposed to active guerrilla fronts, according to the AFP.
Although the CPP-NPA has weakened, National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict Executive Director Ernesto Torres Jr. earlier explained that AFP troops are still in areas where the presence of armed groups was detected.
Since its founding on March 29, 1969, the NPA has carried out the world鈥檚 longest-running Maoist insurgency.
In February, Padilla said it has always been the national government鈥檚 goal to end the country鈥檚 internal insurgency problem this year and transition to external defense in line with the 鈥淏agong Pilipinas鈥� movement.