DEFENSE Secretary Delfin Lorenzana yesterday sought to degrade the 53rd foundation anniversary of the New People’s Army, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, today.
“(W)e are once again reminded of the lives lost and the suffering caused by the communist terrorists, particularly their armed wing, the New People’s Army,” Lorenzana said in a statement.
Lorenzana, a retired Army general, noted the atrocities committed by the rebel group, which the military aims to defeat before the end of President Duterte’s term in June this year.
Military estimates place the strength of the NPA at around 2,500 men as of January this year, from a high of more than 20,000 in the 1980s.
“Over the years, the NPA took pride in committing lawless activities such as extortion, destruction of civilian-owned properties, and undermining the government, all in the name of their so-called ideology,” said Lorenzana.
He said thousands of rebels have returned to the government fold during the Duterte administration and availed of the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program or E-CLIP.
“They have given their firearms in exchange for more peaceful tools of trade, and I am encouraged by the success stories of our former rebels,” Lorenzana said.
But he added “there is more to be done” in the campaign against communist insurgency.
“Even as we enjoy the dividends of peace, we continue our mission to secure our communities, encourage CPP-NPA members to avail of the E-CLIP, and finally put a stop to the decades-long communist armed conflicts in the country,” said Lorenzana.
Lorenzana said he hopes the next administration will continue the efforts against the communists.
“It is our hope that whoever comes next will continue what we have started and sustain our peace initiatives,” the defense chief added.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the CPP said the party and the NPA “have successfully frustrated Duterte and his military generals in their repeated declarations of crushing the people’s armed resistance.”
But it admitted having incurred losses “due to some internal weaknesses and shortcomings, particularly in terms of adjusting to the changed military situation borne out of the enemy’s new arsenal of weapons and strategies”
It said the military strategy “requires the NPA to adapt new guerrilla methods and tactics of fighting.”
Despite the setbacks, it said the CPP said the NPA “remains ever determined to advance the Filipino people’s revolutionary armed struggle.”
“The setbacks suffered by some NPA units reaffirm the necessity of waging extensive and intensive guerrilla warfare on an ever widening and deepening mass base,” the CPP also said.
