The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has dismantled 20 guerilla fronts of the Communist Party of the Philippines – New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) this year, reducing the active units to only 43, according to the country’s top military commander.
Lt. Gen. Andres Centino, AFP Chief of Staff, expressed confidence that they will meet the deadline given by President Duterte to end the communist insurgency by the end of his term in June 2022.
“We are glad to report that out of the remaining guerilla fronts, iilan na lang ang natitira (only few remain). In fact, this year we have dismantled 20 guerilla fronts so 43 ang natitira (only 43 remain),” Centino said in a Laging Handa press briefing on Monday, Nov. 29.
Out of the active guerilla units, Centino said 11 were already “weakened” and up for dismantling after their leaders were either captured or slain in military operations.
“So at the rate that we are going, I am sure that hindi malayo na macomply talaga natin iyong inutos ng ating Presidente (it will not take long before we can accomplish the task given by the President),” he added.
The CPP-NPA has been waging an insurgency rebellion against the government for 52 years already, the longest of such in Asia.
Duterte tried multiple times to organize peace talks with the communist leadership since he assumed presidency in 2016 but it just crumbled everytime, as each party accuses the other of insincerity.
Duterte then issued Executive Order No. 70 which called for a “whole-of-government” approach to deal with the insurgency problem.
While the military focuses on its warfighting initiatives, other government agencies such as the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) among others deliver socio-economic intervention programs to the communities.
“Because they are now our partners, it gave us the focus, the time, the resources, and the personnel that we have been so much wanting in the past. Before the EO 70 was issued, our soldiers and policemen also served as doctors, dentists, engineers and even teachers ,” Centino said.
“Before, this was what we have been doing more than our core function of warfighting so we cannot really focus to address the armed insurgents,” he added.
“Right now, other government agencies are already involved so the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police now focused in going after the armed group. This setup has increased our successes exponentially, malaki na ang nabawas natin sa threats (there was a huge decrease in the number of threats),” he stressed.