Communist Party of the Philippines

The Communist Party of the PhilippinesNew Peoples Army (CPP-

NPA) seeks to overthrow the Philippine government in favor of a new
state led by the working class and to expel U.S. influence from the
Philippines. The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) was
founded in 1968, and its armed wing, the New Peoples Army (NPA),
was founded in the following year. Because the party and its armed
wing are so closely intertwined, they are often referred to together as
the CPP-NPA.
 What is Communism?
Communism is a political theory derived from Karl Marx, Lenin
and Mao Zedong, advocating class war and leading to a society
in which all property is publicly owned and each person works
and is paid according to their abilities and needs.

A philosophical, social, political and economic ideology and

movement whose ultimate goal is the establishment of the
communist society, which is a socio-economic order structured
upon the common ownership of the means of production and
the absence of social classes, money and the state.
THE FIRST COMMUNIST MOVEMENT IN THE PHILIPPINES KNOWN
AS PARTIDO KOMUNISTA NG PILIPINAS (PKP) WAS FOUNDED BY
CRISANTO EVANGELISTA AND OTHER LABOR LEADERS ON NOV.
7, 1930 IN MANILA.

MARCH 29, 1942 THE CPP FORMED ITS ARMED WING AGAINST
THE JAPANESE IT WAS THEN CALLED THE HUKBONG BAYAN
LABAN SA HAPON (HUKBALAHAP)
AFTER THE JAPANESE OCCUPATION THE CPP LAID DOWN
ARMS & ADOPTED LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY STRUGGLE.

NEW GENERATION OF ACTIVISTS LED BY JOSE MARIA

SISON FOUNDED THE REVOLUTIONARY YOUTH
ORGANIZATION KABATAANG MAKABAYAN WHOSE
FOUNDING MEMBERS AFTER 4 YEARS RE-ESTABLISH THE
CPP AND ADOPTS THE IDEOLICAL LINE OF MARXISM-
LENNINISM-MAO ZEDONG THOUGHT.
MARCH 29, 1969, BARELY 3
MONTHS AFTER THE CPPS RE-
ESTABLISHMENT, JOSE MARIA
SISON TOGETHER WITH BERNABE
BUSCAYNO (aka Kumander Dante)
FOUNDED THE NEW PEOPLES
ARMY (NPA).
 Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP)

POLICY MAKING BODY

ISSUES DIRECTIVES AND MEMORANDUM
MAINTAINS ABSOLUTE LEADERSHIP OVER THE NPA
MAINTAINS IDEOLOGICAL LEADERSHIP OVER
THE NDF
 New Peoples Army (NPA)

CUTTING EDGE OF THE REVOLUTION

PRIMARY FORCE OF THE MOVEMENT
IMPLEMENTS REVOLUTIONARY TAXATION
 National Democratic Front (NDF)

SHIELD OF THE REVOLUTION

UMBRELLA ORGANIZATION OF ALL
NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC UNDERGROUND MASS
ORGANIZATIONS (NDUGMOs)
CONDUCTS POLITICAL OFFENSIVES
 Division of the CPP/NPA into REAFFIRMISTS AND REJECTIONIST
FACTIONS
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the CPP-NPA suffered various organizational
losses. The Philippine government captured key leaders, and internal purges
again resulted in dozens of CPP-NPA members deaths. Internal debate over the
organizations future further weakened it. On December 26, 1991, under the
name Armando Liwanag, Sison published Reaffirm Our Basic Principles and
Rectify Errors. He insisted that the CPP-NPA reaffirm its commitment to the
protracted peoples war, armed struggle, and a rural-based strategy rather than
waste resources on negotiations or legal action. Sisons publication sparked the
Second Great Rectification Movement, which divided the CPP-NPA into
Rejectionists (RJs) and Reaffirmists (RAs); the former disagreed with Sisons
ideas and the latter supported those ideas. Rejectionists were forced out of the
CPP-NPA or voluntarily left, due to their belief in at least some role for lawful
protest or their disagreement with what they termed Sisons Stalinism.
Rejectionists established their own political parties or participated in
other legal organizations promoting societal reform, such as trade unions
or nongovernmental organizations. Some rejectionists engaged in local
militant activity, but in general, rejectionist groups remained small and
easily dismantled. One exception was the Alex Boncayao Brigade (ABB),
which had been established as a CPP-NPA urban guerrilla force in the
mid-1980s; the ABB broke away from the CPP-NPA in the early 1990s
along with other rejectionists and continued its militant activities.
On the other hand, the Reaffirmistswho comprised most of the CPP-
NPAsupported the principles espoused by Sison, and the CPP-NPA
consequently returned its focus to the countryside. Additionally, the CPP-
NPAs Central Committee approved Sisons policies in its July 1992
plenum.
 Development through the various Presidencies:

FERDINAND MARCOS was the first president for being dictator

in the Communist insurgency.
1972, Marcos declared martial law to save the country from
communist takeover the country, China supports NPA to give
weapons, while in the 1980s, Vietnam supports NPA

Corazon Aquino was the first woman president in the country

and agreed to a 60-day ceasefire in 1987
 Gloria Macapagal - Arroyo government returned to the negotiating table with
the CPP-NPA, but this also broke down after the US listed the group as a
terrorist organization.

Benigno Aquino III - meetings and informal talks were held in Manila, Norway,
and the Netherlands. But the talk ended when administration rejected the
rebels' demand to release scores of their jailed comrades.

Rodrigo Duterte - July 25, 2016 declared a unilateral ceasefire with the CPP-
NPA-NDF
-permanent and lasting peace" before he ends his term in 2022
-talk to end the 47 years/ Asias longest running insurgency
 Fidel Ramos - signing of two agreements:

1. Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees

(JASIG); and
2. Comprehensive Agreement to Respect Human Rights and
International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL).
 CPPs Strategy of Protracted Peoples War (PPW)

The CPP/NPA has adopted a strategy of a protracted peoples war (PPW)

using the Marxist-Leninist Mao Zedong ideology. The PPW is divided into
several stages designed to gradually develop/conquer the countryside before
a final onslaught of the cities and the seat of government. The seizure of
political power through armed force is the general principle guiding the
Philippine revolution. On the other hand, the peoples war is carried out by
gradually strengthening the revolutionary forces and encircling the cities from
the countryside prior to final seizure of state power.

The protracted war would undergo three stages, as follows:

 Strategic Defensive Stage

This stage is the preliminary phase that will set

the stage for the Partys ultimate goal of seizing state
power.

Efforts of the Party at this stage are geared

towards subverting, paralyzing and neutralizing the
government political infrastructure. This stage is
characterized by sustained political mass work,
alliance building, party building efforts, tactical
offensives and other initiatives against the politico-
military advantage of the government. It is subdivided
into two stages, namely:
 2 stages of Strategic Defensive Stage

1. Early sub-stage - the main objective of this sub-stage is to

position the CPP/NPA in the various strategic areas of the
archipelago through the formation of guerilla zones and
guerilla fronts. The NPA carry out the task of organizing
the mass base. Limited guerilla actions and liquidations
are also undertaken. Political struggles, which are
sectoral in nature, are also developed in the town or urban
centers.

2. Advance sub-stage - at this substage, the CPP/NPA

intensifies guerilla warfare and prepares the people for direct
political involvement in the revolutionary war. Militarily, the
CPP/NPA consolidates its existing guerilla zones/fronts and
transforms them into guerilla bases directed towards the
periphery of the urban or town centers.
 Strategic Stalemate
It is characterized by the tilting balance of forces between the
revolutionary forces and the government forces to almost
equality.
The revolutionary forces in this stage may not have the
military strength equal to the government. However, its deep-
rooted political influence among the populace, resulting from the
establishment of well-entrenched Party and mass organizations
and the development of its sectoral revolutionary mass
movements will cause the people to be deeply divided between
the pro- and anti-government sides, leading to a political
disequilibrium.
 Strategic Offensive

The political disequilibrium, arising from the Strategic

Stalemate will lead to a shifting of the center of gravity of political
forces in favor of the CPP/NPA.
 Current Update

Despite its capability of prolonging the insurgency problem for almost half a
century, the CPP/NPA/NDF continues to suffer decreases in strength and areas of
operation.
Meanwhile, current data showed that CNN manpower is now placed at around
3,700 regulars armed with about 4,480 firearms. Moreover, there are 42 guerilla
fronts nationwide with activities are particularly felt in some 516 barangays.
In a recent statement, the Party has admitted to be unable to advance to the
next level of its struggle due to a number of ideological and organizational
weaknesses. It is worth noting that the CNN remains at the first stage which is the
strategic defensive stage which means that the NPA is very much weaker militarily
than the government forces. Although outnumbered, the NPA maintains the
initiative to launch tactical offensives against government forces.
 On Peace Negotiations

The peace negotiations between the GRP-NDFP continue to be on

impasse following the cancelation of the back channel talks with the NDF
negotiating panel which was set to be conducted in Europe before the
Presidents 2017 SONA. The President also ordered the peace negotiators
not to resume the formal talks unless the CPP/NPA agree to stop attacks
against government troops and extortion activities in Mindanao.

The cancellation was largely due to the NPA attack against the members
of Presidential Security Group (PSG) in a checkpoint set up by the NPA in
Brgy. Katipunan, Arakan, North Cotabato wounding six PSG personnel on
July 19. This development will provide the NPA the motivation to further
intensify armed offensives amid the Central Committee directive in relation to
the plan to extend Martial Law.
 Current Update

To note, the Party recently renewed its directive to the NPA to continue its
resistance against the extension of Martial Law to which it say would only
prolong the restrictions against civil and political freedom in Mindanao.
Hence, it urged the NPA to continue to strengthen itself nationwide by
carrying out armed counteractions and offensives across the country to
defeat the Mindanao Martial Law and nationwide all-out war.

Prior to the cancellation, the fifth round of talks with the National
Democratic Front was set on the second or third week of August. It can
be recalled that it was supposed to be held on May 27, but was also
scuttled due to the NPAs directive to its ground forces to accelerate and
intensify attacks against the government in the face of the declaration of
martial law in Mindanao.
 Current Update
As part of the confidence measure building to have an enabling
environment conducive to peace negotiations, negotiating panels made the
following positive gestures prior to the cancellation:

On JASIG: An updated list of National Democratic Front (NDF) rebels

and consultants covered by the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity
Guarantee (JASIG) was deposited in The Netherlands on June 12. The
list, encrypted in USB (Universal Serial Bus) flash disks and a back-up
security drive (sd) and locked in a safety deposit box, contains
photographs and real identities of rebel consultants who are still
underground. The JASIG-covered rebel consultants were issued letters
of authority (LAs) by GRP panel chair Silvestre Bello, which they could
present to police authorities and military in case they are held or arrested.
 Current Update

On releases: President Rodrigo Duterte granted conditional

pardon to 10 NDF-claimed political prisoners detained at the New
Bilibid Prison. These prisoners, most of whom have been
imprisoned for more than 10 years.
END OF PRESENTATION