Brawner urges NPA to ‘abandon armed struggle, reunite with families and contribute to peace’
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief Romeo Brawner Jr. has urged the remaining communist rebels to surrender to the government, saying the rebel movement has been “significantly crippled,” with only one weakened guerrilla front remaining.
In a statement on Thursday during the 56th founding anniversary of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), Brawner said the CPP, along with its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA), “faces a leadership vacuum, shrinking membership and diminished operational capabilities.”
Despite this, he said the military would remain vigilant against any attempts to disrupt the lives of law-abiding citizens.
“We urge the remaining members of the CPP-NPA to abandon their armed struggle, reunite with their families and contribute to peaceful and progressive communities,” he said.
According to him, the AFP is committed to supporting those who surrender through various reintegration programs provided by the government.
On Dec. 17, Col. Francel Margareth Padilla, AFP spokesperson, said the NPA was reduced to only one “weakened” guerrilla front, but the CPP denied this claim. Padilla later said that the military was aiming to have zero NPA guerrilla fronts within the year.
In October, authorities arrested Wigberto “Baylon” Villarico, the acting chair of the CPP, and two other top officials of the organization.
The arrest was “a major step” to dismantle the leadership of the communist terrorist group and “bring lasting peace to the country,” said National Security Adviser Eduardo Año.
In February, Padilla said the AFP would “really pursue the elimination” of the remaining guerrilla fronts of the NPA, adding that President Marcos had ordered the military to put an end to the internal insurgency problem and focus on external defense.
‘Irrelevant to the nation’s future’
Brawner said the AFP “remains steadfast in its mission to end the decades-long insurgency” and render the CPP-NPA “irrelevant to the nation’s future.”
Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. rejected a ceasefire with the communist rebels this holiday season because any ceasefire “is a ceasefire against terrorists and criminals.”
“It is a last-ditch measure of a Jurassic group to find relevance in the national political ecosystem,” Teodoro said.
Peace talks between the government and the communist rebels collapsed during the term of then President Rodrigo Duterte after he issued Proclamation No. 360 in November 2017 terminating the negotiations.
A year later, Duterte created the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict. Last September, Commissioner Jamar Kulayan of the National Amnesty Commission said that communist rebels have until March 14, 2026 to submit their applications for the government’s amnesty program.
