Insurgency: NDF Terror Tag

The big news this week is that the Anti-Terror Council has decreed that the NDF is a terrorist organization. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1147538

The National Democratic Front (NDF) has been formally designated as a terrorist organization by the Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC).

In the five-page Resolution No. 21 dated June 23, 2021, ATC Chair and Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea cited the NDF as “an integral and separate part” of the CPP-NPA (Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army) created in April 1973.

“Article IX of the 2016 CPP Constitution shows the command, lead and guidance of the CPP over the NPA, while Article X shows that the NDF (a.k.a. NDF of the Philippines) is the core and most consolidated group that provides support to the armed and organizational expansion of the CPP-NPA,” the resolution read.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra previously said the principal effect of the designation by ATC is the freezing of bank accounts and other financial assets of the designated person/entity, not immediate arrest.

The resolution also said the “direct and indispensable role of the NDF in armed operations“ has been repeatedly confirmed by CPP founder Jose Maria Sison, including the latest when he identified the CPP-NPA as allied organizations of the NDF in his message for the NDF’s 48th anniversary in April 2021.

"To the Anti-Terrorism Council designation of the NDF of the Philippines, let us remember by nature, the CPP-NPA-NDF has open organizations or what they call legal fronts, but in truth, it has underground mass organizations and officers that control these open organizations," he said during Monday's episode of the "Tagged: Debunking Lies by Telling the Truth" online briefing organized by the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict.

The fall out from this designation stands to be far reaching. For one thing, the bank accounts and other financial assets of this group will now be frozen. This means that and money the NDF uses to finance the NPA will no longer be available. The PNP says now the NDF will not be able to take advantage of the law.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1147766

The designation of the National Democratic Front (NDF) as a terrorist group will prevent its members from circumventing the law to evade arrest, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said on Wednesday.

“(There are already too many CPP-NPA members and leaders who claim that they are peace talks consultants when they are arrested. With the declaration of the NDF as a terrorist group, these people will no longer have an excuse and our operations will be further strengthened to put an end to these groups that are sowing violence in the country),” said PNP chief, Gen. Gullermo Eleazar in a statement.

Does claiming that you are a peace talk consultant give you an automatic get out of jail free card? Eleazar is not clear on the matter. With the designation of the NDF as a terrorist organization peace talks are effectively over.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1463477/groups-say-ndfp-terror-tag-closes-door-for-peace-with-reds

The designation of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) as a terrorist organization by the Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC) has shut any chance of reviving the peace process between the government and communist rebels.

“This designation tragically closes the door to what is truly called for: a peaceful resolution of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and NDFP conflict,” said a statement of the Philippine Ecumenical Peace Platform (PEPP), a group of religious leaders from various denominations pushing for a negotiated settlement to the communist rebellion in the country.

The statement was signed by Archbishop Emeritus Antonio Ledesma, Rt. Rev. Rex B. Reyes Jr., Bishop Reuel Norman O. Marigza, Rev. Aldrin Penamora, Sr. Mary John D. Mananzan, and Bishop Emeritus Degracias S. Iniguez Jr.

“The ATC buried 29 years of laborious and painstaking agreements and gradual steps toward peace. The government seems to be ignoring that peace is a sacred right of all people and guaranteed as a fundamental duty of the state,” the PEPP lamented.

The recent actions of the ATC, the PEPP noted, “confirms that the Anti-Terrorism Law is a huge hurdle to the promise of peace for everyone as it is being used as a weapon in a total war against so-called terrorists.”

As the political arm of the CPP, the NDFP has been involved in on-and-off peace negotiations with the government since 1987.

What this article fails to mention is that peace talks are dead because of the CASER which is non-negotiable for the CPP. I wrote about this document before which can be read here. The Comprehensive Agreement on Social and Economic Reforms (CASER) can be read here:

https://ndfp.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/FINAL-Jan-17-2018-NDFP-CASER-2017-Web-version-Ver2.0.pdf

This document is 173 pages of broad and general calls for reform in industry, culture, agriculture, and other areas of the government and Philippine life. The one thing lacking is there are no methods of implementing these reforms. There is nothing exact. It's as vague as the term "social and economic reform." After listing the various reforms sought for a particular area there is a schedule of implementation like the following:

Section 1. The Parties shall create a mechanism to ensure that the Agreement on Financial, Monetary and Fiscal Policies (FMF) is respected and effectively implemented. 

Section 4. The Parties shall, within three (3) months from signing this Agreement, agree on the composition, functions, mechanics and logistics of the JMC-FMF and on the implementation schedule and work plan containing the dates and time frame for undertaking their respective commitments under the Agreement on FMF.

These terms are too vague and the time frame for designing a method of implementation, 3 months for each section, is too short. The danger in signing such an over broad agreement is that the CPP will undoubtedly accuse the government of not keeping it's word when all these reforms are not implemented due to disagreement on the methods of implementation. These are not reforms that can happen over night or in 3 months. The CPP is not taking into account the slow nature of government especially the corrupt Philippine government.

So, who's next after the NDF? How about the various party-lists?

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1147873

The cancellation of party-list organizations that are identified with the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) will not only save the youth from being recruited into the armed struggle but will also save government funds.

This, according to members of the League of Parents of the Philippines (LPP) and Liga Independencia Pilipinas (LIPI) during a rally in front of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) main office in Intramuros, Manila on Thursday.

The groups called on the poll body to bar the Kabataan and Gabriela party-lists from joining the May 2022 elections, saying it is about time that it corrects its past mistake by delisting them.

They insisted both are legal fronts of the CPP-NPA-NDF and deceptively lure minors to fight the government.

There have been calls to delist these two parties for a while no so it would seem to be the logical next step in the government's plan to fight the insurgency. Declaring various groups as terrorist organizations is actually part of the holistic approach of the government.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1148041

The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) headed by President Rodrigo Duterte has accomplished more than any other administrations in neutralizing the Communist Party of the Philippines – New People’s Army – National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF).

In his message on the success of the NTF-ELCAC, President Duterte said: “Our past experiences have shown us that a purely military-centric approach to the problem will not achieve the desired results. Assessing on our past practices, we have come to the conclusion that solving the insurgency requires a holistic and inclusive process which responds to the basic needs of our communities.”

At a recent virtual presscon, National Security Adviser Sec. Hermogenes Esperon Jr. said the “whole-of-nation” approach under Executive Order 70 (EO 70) that created the NTF-ELCAC has been very effective and decisive in addressing the root causes of the 52-year-old insurgency that will finally bring an end to the senseless armed conflict and attain an inclusive and sustainable peace all over the country.

 The CPP-NPA-NDF seeks the violent overthrow of the democratically-elected government and replaces it with an autocratic and tyrannical communist regime.

The NTF-ELCAC’s latest triumphs include the NDF being designated by the Anti-Terrorist Council (ATC) as a terrorist group. This designation, which was described as long overdue, empowered the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) to issue a freeze order on all the accounts and assets related to the NDF.

Esperon pointed out that this monumental achievement, under the leadership of President Duterte is designed to weaken and finally limit the movement of the whole CPP-NPA-NDF and its many front organizations.

No doubt another one of these milestones is the surrender of 491 CPP-NPA members since the beginning of the year.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1148059

A total of 491 members of the Communist Party of the Philippines - New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) operating in Northern and Central Luzon returned to the fold of the law in the first six months of the year.

Records of the Northern Luzon Command (Nolcom) showed the figures are higher compared to the same period last year with 198 rebel-surrenderers.

Lt. Gen. Arnulfo Marcelo B. Burgos Jr., Nolcom commander, said Friday from January to the present, an average of two NPA rebels with one firearm returned to the government’s fold every day, “a clear manifestation of the terrorist group’s imminent collapse in Northern and Central Luzon.”

These are apart from the 767 party members of the different NPA-affiliated mass organizations who have withdrawn their support from the terrorist group and pledged their allegiance to the government.

Burgos attributed the surge of surrenders and withdrawal of support to their unrelenting internal security operations and sustained community engagement through their community support program.

Added to the 767 other surrenderees that is 1,258 CPP affiliated people who have abandoned the revolution. Many of them are doing it for the money. Hopefully the government delivers on time or they might rejoin the revolution..

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1462980/npa-rebel-surrenders-twice-in-pampanga

A rebel returnee, who rejoined the New People’s Army (NPA) after failing to receive the cash and related benefits from the government, surrendered again on Tuesday, July 20.

The 30-year-old rebel initially surrendered to authorities in November last year. But he returned to the underground communist movement sometime last May because he did not receive the P186,000 financial and livelihood assistance from the government under the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (ECLIP).

In a statement, the Police Regional Office 3 (PRO3) identified the rebel returnee only as “Boknoy/Mia,” a resident of Porac, Pampanga.

The PRO3 said Boknoy decided to just rejoin the NPA after waiting unsuccessfully for his ECLIP benefits for six months.

But while his re-integration with the NPA was still under “observation status,” Boknoy decided to surrender again to authorities, hoping to receive his ECLIP benefits this time.

The benefits include P186,000 in cash and livelihood assistance, payment for surrendered firearms, and housing, legal, medical, educational, and related assistance.

PRO3 director Brigadier General Valeriano de Leon said Boknoy turned over a caliber .38 revolver with one live bullet when he surrendered for the second time to the military and police.

He said the former rebel, who allegedly used to operate in Bataan, Pampanga, and Zambales under the NPA, is eligible to receive his ECLAC benefits.

If he is eligible for all those benefits then the government had better give him those benefits. You can't promise someone a bribe and then not deliver.