No gunfire but AFP, reds engage in 鈥榳ord war鈥�
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief-of-staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. in an interview with reporters at Camp Aguinaldo. 黑料社 / John Eric Mendoza
ILIGAN CITY—In a welcome respite from the usual violence, the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) had engaged in an exchange of sharp words in the past days as they weighed in on the fate of the over half-a-century-long Maoist rebellion in the country.
As the CPP observed its 56th founding anniversary on Dec. 26, AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., in a statement, urged the remaining communist rebels “to abandon their armed struggle, reunite with their families, and contribute to peaceful and progressive communities,” stressing the state “is committed to supporting those who surrender through various reintegration programs by the government.”
Both the government and the CPP had skipped a holiday truce declaration this year. The last one was in 2019.
Brawner reiterated the AFP’s earlier pledge “to end the decades-long insurgency and render the CPP and its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA), irrelevant to the nation’s future,” noting that the guerrilla movement’s capabilities “have been significantly crippled.”
Brawner said the NPA is left with only “one weakened guerrilla front” that is “set for dismantling” by government troops.
Article continues after this advertisementThe government has continually pounded on NPA guerrilla positions as well as pursued leading rebel leaders since peace negotiations broke down in 2017. This has resulted in the National Task Force on Ending Local Communist Armed Conflict declaring several provinces and regions throughout the country as freed from the presence of communist rebels.
Article continues after this advertisement“Today, the CPP-NPA faces a leadership vacuum, shrinking membership, and diminished operational capabilities. Despite this, the AFP remains vigilant against any attempts to disrupt the lives of law-abiding citizens,” Brawner pointed out.
In a strongly worded response, CPP chief information officer Marco Valbuena accused Brawner of “misleading the public with his absurd claim that the NPA has only one weakened guerrilla front,” the location of which the top military leader has not specified.
READ: On CPP’s 56th anniversary: ’No incident’ nationwide – Army
Valbuena also belied the claim there was a leadership vacuum in the guerrilla movement.
“The AFP is spending hundreds of millions of pesos on intelligence and combat operations to cut the head of the party. Yet, no amount of assassinations, extrajudicial killings, abductions or arrests can halt the party’s leadership in the Philippine revolution,” Valbuena said in a statement dated Dec. 27.
The CPP marked its 56th founding anniversary with a call on the NPA to “frustrate the enemy’s all-out war, recover from our losses, gain new victories and advance the Filipino people’s revolutionary resistance.”
However, the CPP anniversary statement also acknowledged “grave losses and reversals in some regions and guerrilla fronts.”
The CPP was established in 1968 to lead a protracted war against the state, adopting into the country’s sociopolitical landscape the model of the Mao Zedong-led Chinese revolution that attained victory in 1949. INQ
