Manila Bulletin
Philippines
National
AFP bent on 'totally defeating' CPP-NPA despite shift to external defense
Philippines
National
AFP bent on 'totally defeating' CPP-NPA despite shift to external defense
AFP bent on 'totally defeating' CPP-NPA despite shift to external defense
Published Jul 5, 2023 02:34 am
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is aiming to fully eradicate the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA), despite the military’s transition from internal security operations (ISO) to external defense.
*Ranking officials from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and Department of National Defense (DND) attend the military's first semester command conference on July 4, 2023 in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City. (Photo: AFP)
* General Andres Centino, AFP Chief of Staff, revealed this as he led the organization’s first semester command conference on Tuesday, July 4, in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City which was attended by top military officers and senior defense officials. “The AFP, under the banner of our Internal Security Operations (ISO), continues with the aim of totally defeating the communist terrorist group and other local terrorists,” he said, although no time frame was given as to when the military chief sees it from happening. The AFP Chief said that it was the successes of the military’s operations against the Communist Party of the Philippines – New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) which prompted them to shift into territorial defense while supporting the country’s fight for its national interests amid the changing global political landscape in the region. The CPP, along with its armed wing NPA, has been waging a rebellion against the government for 54 years now or since 1969. “Our efforts have resulted in success with the significant reduction of their [CPP-NPA] numbers and firearms and the clearing of areas where they used to maintain presence; and those countering of their, propaganda, and suppression of their financial and logistics support,” Centino shared. According to AFP, only one active guerilla front of the CPP-NPA remain active from the previous five active fronts towards the latter part of 2022. “Two were dismantled, two were weakened, leaving only one active. With these, we have safeguarded the safety and welfare of our fellow citizens,” he said. He said the AFP is increasing its capacity and capability through the ongoing modernization program to achieve its goals in enhancing the external defense of the country while dealing with the remaining forces of the CPP-NPA. “With our substantial gains on ISO, a shift to external security operations (ESO) is in the horizon as we strengthen our security posture with the increased conduct of aerial and surface maritime patrols, employment of our air surveillance radar systems, monitoring of sea lines of communications and the redeployment of Naval Special Operations units and the Philippine Marines,” Centino stated. “We have improved our capabilities and our presence in strategic locations with the increase in the number of naval vessels and the effective presence of our maritime detachments in the Batanes group of islands and the West Philippine Sea,” he continued. Further, Centino stressed that the AFP has also partnered with long-time and emerging allies to enable them to leverage their capabilities through information sharing, subject matter expert exchange, and joint and combined maritime patrols. But the AFP Chief acknowledged that there are still room for improvements on other aspects such as the reserve force development, cyber defense, resource programming and prioritization, and human resource competencies. “In order to keep steps ahead of the adversaries, we will also boost up our efforts to improve interoperability, strengthen intelligence sharing, and pursue efficiency and innovations in all our operations,” Centino said.