It was not so long ago the AFP boasted that the NPA had been strategically defeated, all their guerrilla fronts had been dismantled, and they were now leaderless. Yet, despite these blows to the CPP-NPA, they have been able to recruit Filipino-Americans into the fight.
The Philippine Army's 2nd Infantry Division (2ID) on Monday reiterated the concern of U.S.-based Filipino-Americans Against Communist Terrorism (FACT) following reports of recruitment of Filipino American youths to individuals linked to the Communist Party of the Philippines–New People’s Army (CPP-NPA).
2ID public affairs office chief Col. Michael Aquino said this development reflects a disturbing pattern of recruitment targeting young individuals abroad.
“The information coming from various sources, including Filipino-American organizations themselves, confirm that the CPP-NPA continues to recruit and exploit young people, including those from overseas communities, and draw them into a terrorist movement that endangers their lives,” he said in a statement.
Aquino said that Filipino American youths are often tricked into believing they are supporting a noble cause.
"Instead of contributing to a noble cause, they are placed in dangerous situations and used to advance a violent ideology that has brought suffering to communities for decades,” he added.
Aquino also urged families, communities, and Filipino organizations overseas to be vigilant and to help protect young people from being drawn into extremist movements
Likewise, the 2ID reiterated its call for the remaining members of the armed group to abandon violence and return to the folds of the law where government programs remain available to help them rebuild their lives and reunite with their families.
In a recent statement, FACT warned that several Filipino American activists were allegedly recruited by CPP-NPA-linked operatives in the United States and later traveled to the Philippines to undergo exposure and training with the armed group in the mountains of Occidental Mindoro.
One of those identified was Chantal Anicoche, a 24-year-old graduate of the University of Maryland, who was rescued alive by government troops on Jan. 8, following the Jan. 1 encounter in Abra de Ilog, Occidental Mindoro.
She survived days without food and water. Soldiers provided her medical assistance and humanitarian support before facilitating her safe return to her family in Maryland.
Reports also indicated that Anicoche was accompanied in Mindoro by another Filipino American activist, Cristina Pasion, who is believed to have remained with the armed group after the January encounter.
On March 29, Charlize Garzon aka 'Ka Kaye' was captured just a few meters away from where Army Capt. Dean Oyando was killed while two other soldiers were wounded.
Garzon is now facing criminal charges in connection with the incident.
Aside an M-16 rifle and other war materials, documents and personal belongings recovered from the encounter sites, including journals and handwritten notes, which validates the possible presence of foreign individuals within the NPA group operating in the area.
Believe it or not the group Filipino-Americans Against Communist Terrorism has been warning the AFP about foreign recruitment for at least five years! From July 2021 we read the following.
A group of Filipino Americans in New York on Sunday called on the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) to stop its recruitment activities and the fund-raising activities in the United States.
The Filipino-Americans Against Crime and Terrorism (FACT) made this appeal after groups of young Filipino Americans held a rally outside the Philippine Consulate General in New York on June 11 during the 123rd Philippine Independence Day.
FACT said the protesters were composed of Bayan-USA, Anakbayan-USA, Migrante-USA, and Malaya Movement.
Aside from denouncing the Philippine government and seeking to overthrow President Rodrigo Duterte, the youth groups also demanded the US government to stop its military support for the Philippines.
During the rally, one of the speakers extolled the CPP-NPA, saying the communist terrorist group (CTG) and its members are the true heroes the Filipinos should honor.
“We in the Filipino-Americans Against Crime and Terrorism (FACT) are aghast by the audacity of these groups to praise the CPP-NPA. They did this in open defiance of the United States government, which is one of several countries that had designated the CPP-NPA as a terrorist organization,” FACT statement read.
FACT said the US Department of State listed the CPP-NPA as a foreign terrorist organization in August 2002 due to its involvement in countless atrocities not only against the military but on innocent civilians, including women and children.
It said that despite the repeated denials of Bayan-USA, Anakbayan-USA, and other organizations of their links with the CPP-NPA, the youth groups’ actions outside the Philippine Consulate reflect otherwise.
The protesters’ actions also confirmed what the FACT members have been saying all along that the CPP-NPA cadres are 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 Philippine government through their so-called 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.
This is another reason why open borders and mass migration have been such a disaster for the USA. Not only Islamic terrorist groups but the CPP-NPA are fundraising in the open on the streets of America. That is a failure on the part of US authorities who should deport these people who have no business being in the USA.
Was the AFP unaware of these activities? Surely not. Yet in December 2023 the AFP claimed all the NPA fronts had been weakened meaning they were unable to recruit.
Aguilar made the pronouncement as he downplayed the current strength of the NPA.
NPA is only left with more than 1,000 members with 13 “weakened” guerrilla fronts, according to Aguilar.
(There were only a few of them in their group, more than a thousand; their guerilla fronts, which used to be almost 90, are now only at 13, and they are weakened at that.)
Previously, Aguilar said the NPA had 1,800 members with 15 weakened guerrilla fronts.
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 Aguilar.
And yet recruitment continues both at home and abroad. Just what is the true nature of the gains made against the NPA if they persist instead of withering and dying?
In Suirgao Sur a rebel was killed during a clash and high power weapons were seized.
A New People’s Army (NPA) member was killed in an encounter on Wednesday noon in the hinterlands of Sitio Bulacan, Barangay Bolhoon, San Miguel, Surigao del Sur.
Col. Glenn Joy Aynera, commander of the 401st Infantry Brigade (401Bde), said in a statement Thursday that combined troops from the 75th Infantry Battalion (75IB) and the 3rd Special Forces Battalion recovered five high-powered firearms at the site.
“The operation was initiated following a tip-off from a resident who had grown weary of the presence of the Communist Terrorist Group (CTG) members, who reportedly extorted money and food supplies from the community,” Aynera said.
The insurgents were identified as remnants of the Regional Operations Command (ROC) of the North Eastern Mindanao Regional Committee (NEMRC), led by Edilberto Reponte Daval, also known as "Ka Bong" or "Wako".
Troops found the body of a certain "Ka Keroy," a member of the ROC-NEMRC, after the rebels abandoned their position.
In a separate operation on Sunday, the 401Bde reported that 75IB troops recovered materials used for fabricating improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in Sitio Palompon, Barangay Mahaba, Marihatag, Surigao del Sur.
The recovery included four gallons of a nitro energetic molecule. Aynera emphasized that these operations significantly reduce the capacity of CTG remnants to carry out violent actions and weaken their logistical support systems.
If their cause is not noble and just then what exactly propels these men to continue in the fight? Why not surrender and get free benefits? Any surrenderee can receive free money, free food, free housing, free job training, and learn to use the internet.
A ranking official of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) on Wednesday lauded the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) for its initiative to provide digital literacy and ICT skills to former New People's Army (NPA) insurgents from five barangays in Occidental and Oriental Mindoro.
NTF-ELCAC executive director Undersecretary Ernesto Torres Jr. said the DICT's successful launch of its "Balik Loob: Reintegrasyong Digital Program" in five barangays across the two provinces represents a pivotal shift in how the Philippine government facilitates the return of former rebels to mainstream society.
"By bridging the digital divide, the 'Balik Loob' program provides surrenderers with essential digital literacy and ICT skills, transforming them from victims of failed ideologies into productive digital citizens equipped for the modern economy," he added.
This program was piloted in Barangay New Dagupan in Calintaan, Barangay Magsaysay in Sta. Teresa, and Barangay San Vicente in Sablayan—all in Oriental Mindoro—as well as in Barangay Bongabong, Oriental Mindoro
"The commitment of DICT Secretary Henry R. Aguda to bolster ICT infrastructure and lower internet costs in the MIMAROPA (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan) region is a strategic victory for peace," Torres said.
Likewise, he also stressed that peace is not merely the absence of conflict; it is the presence of progress. "When we provide our brothers and sisters who have returned to the fold with the tools to compete in the digital age, we are effectively insulating our communities against the empty promises of insurgency," Torres noted.
The NTF-ELCAC executive also echoed the sentiments of Oriental Mindoro Governor Humerlito Dolor, who stressed that regional stability is inseparable from national unity.
"The convergence of local government units, the DICT, and the NTF-ELCAC demonstrates the whole-of-nation approach in action which is our unified vision for progress," Torres noted.
He also said that the "Balik Loob" program serves as a testament to the government’s sincerity in its mandate of healing and reintegration, moving beyond traditional amnesty to provide sustainable livelihood through technology.
"Through community empowerment, we ensure that even the most remote barangays form part of the nation’s digital roadmap. Our efforts in sustaining peace by addressing the root causes of conflict foster economic resilience and digital inclusion," Torres pointed out.
"The government is ready to welcome you back, not just with open arms, but with the tools to build a better future for your families. Through unity, peace, and development, we are not just ending a conflict—we are building a digitally-empowered and prosperous nation," he added.
Imagine going from fighting in the mountains to working online. Who wouldn't want that?
Meanwhile in the South the AFP continues to fight the Muslim terrorists. In Lanao Sur the Army recovered some war material.
Responding to intelligence about a large cache of war materials in a remote village in Lanao del Sur, the Army unearthed and recovered various war materials and firearms fabrication equipment over the weekend in the town of Marogong.
Brig. Gen. Yasser Bara, commander of the Army’s 101st Infantry Brigade, said soldiers under the 64th Infantry Battalion found the war materials on Saturday in the village of Pabrica, where the Dawlah Islamiyah-Maute Group (DI-MG) had previously occupied following the 2017 Marawi City siege.
"During the operation, the government troops discovered equipment believed to be used in the fabrication of firearms, along with several war materials," Bara said in a statement Monday.
Recovered items included 50 tube barrels for a .50-caliber sniper rifle, one propellant cartridge for a .50-caliber rifle, five Barrett sniper rifle suppressors, ammunition, a 600 mm mortar tube, and a hand grenade.
Bara said there were no remnants of DI-MG in the area or its vicinity at the time of discovery, but soldiers are currently securing the area to ensure safety and allow further recovery of any hidden items.
Just before this discovery an all female Army unit recovered an arms cache.
An all-female unit of the Philippine Army recovered an arms cache in the mountains of Agusan del Sur and Bukidnon dubbed Pantaron Complex on Tuesday.
Special Forces Team 16 Maya was composed of three officers, four enlisted personnel, and one Citizen Armed Force Geographical Unit Active Auxiliary who was a former communist rebel.
Found were four high-powered automatic rifles, M16A1 barrel, bullets, and other war materials.
Major Joe Patrick A. Martinez, chief of the Public Affairs Office of the 4th Infantry (Diamond) Division, said the discovery significantly cripples the armed capability of local threat groups and prevents potential violence in the region. Martinez commended them for their achievement.
Brig. Gen. Seigfred C. Tubalado, commanding general of the 403rd Infantry "Peacemaker" Brigade, also cited them their achievement.
"The successful recovery of these firearms by Special Forces Team 16 ‘Maya’ is a testament to the skill, resilience, and leadership of our female soldiers,” he said. “We remain steadfast in our mission to secure Bukidnon, and we do so with the pride of knowing our female officers are at the forefront of this peace process," Tubalado added.
Well, good for them. The Army needs women. After all it is a whole-of-nation approach they are taking to defeating the insurgency.
