Military admits NPA still a potent force

THE New People’s Army (NPA), the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines-National Democratic Front (CPP-NDF) remains the “most dangerous” organization waging an armed struggle against the government, according to the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Armed Forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Jose Mabanta Jr. made the admission on Sunday, which was coincidentally the 41st founding anniversary of the CPP.

“Among the other threat groups, [the NPA] is still the most potent at this point in time,” Mabanta said.

He articulated the observation even as the NPA’s membership has allegedly significantly dropped over the years from a high of 25,000 during the Marcos administration to 4,700 by the end of the first quarter of the current year.
Mabanta also admitted that the underground group has continuously tried to attract new recruits, but expressed doubt if they had really been able to make much headway.

“They have been recruiting continuously. For one, we all know that [CPP] is already a legal entity. It is the usage of firearms and advocacy to use violence or to push for their ideology which we are fighting,” he pointed out.

Ceasefire

The government has recently declared an 18-day suspension of offensive military operations (SOMO) against the CPP-NPA. The ceasefire took effect on December 16 and would last until 12 midnight of January 3, 2011.

So far, Mabanta said, there were two recorded incidents of SOMO violations, one in Mindoro and one in Negros Oriental.

Two days before the SOMO took effect, the rebel group also reportedly staged an ambush in Samar that left 10 soldiers and a 9-year-old boy dead.

Mabanta, however, stressed that despite the said incidents, the Armed Forces firmly believes that the leadership of the CPP-NPA is bent on pursuing the peace talks that can ultimately put an end to the 40-year communist struggle.

“The problem is: Are they [communist leadership] really able to control, with such a very loose organization, are they able to influence their leaders at the lowest level? That’s what we fear,” Mabanta added.

The Armed Forces, he added, is also concerned with the NPA’s continuous use of landmines, which, Mabanta stressed, a violation of the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL).

“They [NPA] are violating the agreement that they signed, which is the CARHRIHL. We are also a signatory also to the agreement and one of the more important items is the none use of landmines,” Mabanta stressed.

New approach

On December 21, on the occasion of the Armed Forces’ 75th anniversary, President Benigno Aquino 3rd unveiled the Armed Forces’s new counter-insurgency strategy dubbed as the Internal Peace and Security Plan (IPSP) Bayanihan, which would replace Oplan Bantay Laya effective January 2011.

The IPSP Bayanihan is anchored on four specific elements, namely: governance, delivery of basic services, economic reconstruction and sustainable development and security sector reform.

The new strategy deviates from the traditional search and destroy operations and focus instead on civil-military campaign.

“It gives equal emphasis to combat and non-combat dimensions of military operations. On the other hand, the IPSP departs from the old parameters and explores non-combat parameters of success in addressing the country’s peace and security problem,” the strategy said.

The Armed Forces leadership is convinced that the new strategy is the answer to the 40-year insurgency problem, considering that the CPP-NPA is now down to less than 5,000.

The IPSP Bayanihan would be implemented throughout the term of the Aquino administration or until 2011.

In implementing the new strategy, the Armed Forces will be guided by two equally important strategic imperatives: Adherence to Human Rights/International Humanitarian Law and the Rule of Law the involvement of all stakeholders in the peace process.

In its 2009 year-end report, the Armed Forces claimed that the previous strategy, Oplan Bantay Laya, was instrumental in the steady decline of the CPP-NPA and improved business confidence in the country.

In 2002, it said, there were 1,969 barangays affected by the CPP-NPA, which further increase to 12,510 in 2004. But by end 2006, the Armed Forces claimed that it was reduced to 2,115.

It added that in January 2002, there were some 12,000 CPP-NPA members. It was reduced to 7,100 by end 2006 and to only 4,642 by end of the first quarter of 2010. –WILLIAM B. DEPASUPIL REPORTER, Manila Times