Candidates in the 2025 midterm elections, especially in the provinces, can heave a sigh of relief as the so-called permit to campaign imposed by the New People’s Army (NPA) is no longer considered an issue by the National Security Council (NSC).
National Security Adviser (NSA) Eduardo Año said it is because the strength of the communist group has already been greatly diminished due to the government’s intense campaign against insurgency.
“For the next election in 2025, I don't think it's going to be an issue with the very minimal presence now of the NPA,” he said.
The permit to campaign refers to the collection of fees, sometimes forcibly, by communist rebels from candidates so they could run for public office in exchange of protection.
The NSC considers this as a form of extortion and Año previously warned candidates not to give in to the pressure as this would further fund the illegal activities of the NPA.
Ano said that when he served as the secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) under the previous administration, he issued an order in 2019 and 2022 stating that all candidates who will be proven to have provided money or materials to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing, the NPA, will automatically be charged and cases will be filed before the Ombudsman.
This led to a marked decrease in financial support by candidates to the NPA, he added.
Further, Año said that many candidates in the 2019 elections won without succumbing to the NPA's extortion strategies.
"Pagkatapos nilang hindi magbigay, walang nangyari. ‘Oh, pwede naman pala eh. Pwede rin naman palang hindi magbigay, tapos wala din naman palang nangyari, noong kampanya panalo pa rin kami.’ ‘Yan ang sinasabi ng mga nanalo noong 2019 (After they refused to give money, nothing bad happened to them. ‘Oh, it is possible. It’s possible to not pay money and avoid bad things from happening, and during the campaign we still won.’ That’s what the winners were saying in 2019),” he said.
Based on the estimate of the NSC, the NPA is now down to five “weakened” guerilla fronts, a slight decrease from seven fronts during its first semester report earlier this year.
A weakened front means that its political-military structure has been eliminated due to the neutralization of its leaders, although it has still members capable of carrying isolated attacks.
A total of 1,367 communist fighters and supporters were neutralized from Jan. 1 to Aug. 8, according to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
But aside from the NPA, the NSC urged the security sector and the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to be wary of election hotspots in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
BARMM will hold its first ever parliamentary elections on May 12, 2025 alongside the midterm polls.
“Ang ating concern sa next election is the BARMM (Our concern in the next election is the BARMM). We might be putting more troops into BARMM areas just to ensure that, because this is their first BARMM parliamentary election. May problema pa sa stability (There remains a problem on its stability)," he said.