New People's Army
Encyclopedia
The New People's Army (NPA) (Filipino
: Bagong Hukbong Bayan) is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines
. It was formed on March 29, 1969. The Maoist NPA conducts its armed guerrilla struggle based on the strategical line of 'protracted people's war'.
The NPA exacts so called "revolutionary taxes" from business owners. If not paid, negative repercussions could happen to the person and/or business.
, the armed wing of the earlier pro-Soviet
Philippine Communist Party
. The Huks first mobilized and fought against the Japanese Empire
's occupation of the Philippines during World War II
. Under the leadership of Luis Taruc
and Communist Party General Secretary Jose Maria Sison, the Hukbalahap continued waging guerrilla warfare
against the United States military presence and the first independent governments before largely surrendering to President Ramon Magsaysay
in 1954. By the early 1960s the communist Huk campaign was waning.
After the Sino-Soviet split
, communist parties around the world fractured into pro-USSR
and Maoist
groups. The upstart CPP broke from the older Soviet-line Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas-1930 on December 26, 1968. Three months later, on March 29, 1969, the CPP reformed the vanguard party
's old militia
, the Huks, and renamed them the New People's Army, on the anniversary of the date that the guerrilla resistance against Imperial Japan was formed in 1942. The formation was created when José María Sison
met with a former Huk, Bernabe Buscayno
, also known as "Commander Dante".
The NPA is Maoist, claiming to fight for that ideology's concept of "New Democracy
." Starting out with 60 fighters and 34 rifles, the NPA quickly spread throughout the Philippines during the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos. After the declaration of martial law
on September 21, 1972 thousands of students joined the ranks. President Marcos lifted martial law on January 17, 1981.
At its peak in the early 1980s there were over 25,000 fighters. Current strength is estimated at 6,000.
The NPA has been described as a terrorist
organization by the United States
.
and the Philippine intelligence community
. Former NPA fighter Robert Francis Garcia chronicled the wild murders in his book To Suffer Thy Comrades and organized the Peace Advocates for Truth, Healing and Justice (PATH), a group composed of survivors of the "purges" and the families of victims and their friends and supporters. Due to this 'Rectification Movement', NPA rebels have been reported to have apologized to affected communities and even offered compensation for the victims of the purges† while some of its leaders are being reeducated or executed through the People's Court due to their crimes against the movement and the people.
The Rectification Movement, despite its successes and apologies to the people regarding their wrongfully-made actions, also resulted to a series of splits within the Party and even the People's Army. The once-popular Alex Boncayao Brigade, famous and notorious for targeting policemen and corrupt officials, bolted out of the party while some end up forming groups such as the Revolutionary Proletarian Army and the Rebolusyonaryong Hukbong Bayan.
The NPA claims responsibility for the assassination of U.S. Army Colonel
James "Nick" Rowe
, founder of the U.S. Army Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) course, in 1989. Colonel Rowe was part of a military assistance program to the Philippine Army. The NPA insist that this made him a legitimate military target.
in August 2002 and by the European Union
in November 2005. The NPA's founder, Jose Maria Sison
, lives in the Netherlands
in self-imposed exile
. The NPA operates mostly in the rural areas and their targets often include politicians, military, police, criminals, landlords, business owners and occasionally U.S. agents in the Philippines.
In 1995 the CPP issued a communique approving of same-sex relationships and in 2005 the first gay marriage of two NPA cadre was performed.
The Arroyo
administration has been negotiating intermittently with delegates of NPA in European countries.
In March 2007 Rep. Satur Ocampo
was arrested on charges of murder relating to purges within the CPP/NPA alleged to have occurred during the 1980s. Leftists
see it as part of a campaign of persecution against them.
On January, 2008, Avelino Razon, Philippine National Police chief claimed that the New People's Army (NPA) rebels have only 5,700 members as of 2007 due to military destruction of 13 guerrilla bases (lowest level in 20 years). NPAs fought in 69 of 81 Philippine provinces since 1969. Forty thousand people have died in the conflict.
signed Amnesty Proclamation 1377 for members of the Communist Party of the Philippines
and its armed wing, the New People's Army; other communist rebel groups; and their umbrella organization, the National Democratic Front (Philippines)
. The amnesty
will cover the crime of rebellion and all other crimes "in pursuit of political beliefs," but not including crimes against chastity, rape, torture, kidnapping for ransom, use and trafficking of illegal drugs and other crimes for personal ends and violations of international law or convention and protocols "even if alleged to have been committed in pursuit of political beliefs." The National Committee on Social Integration (NCSI) will issue a Certificate of Amnesty to qualified applicants. Implementing rules and regulations are being drafted and the decree will be submitted to the Senate of the Philippines
and the House of Representatives of the Philippines
for their concurrence. The proclamation becomes effective only after Congress has concurred.
personnel had raided a prison in Lucena, Quezon Province, overpowering the guards and freeing their comrades deemed to be political prisoners. Two of the seven people deemed political prisoners did not escape with the NPA raiders, opting to be cleared of any wrongdoing by legal means as they were activists.
Other NPA rebels held in other prisons were to be moved into secured facilities.
by Indian security forces have brought news that NPA rebels have traveled to India to teach them how to conduct guerrilla warfare against the army and police.
Rosal died of a heart attack, in summer of 2011 after a series of strokes, since contracting Typhoid fever
in 1995 , that greatly disabled his capabilities, he managed to continue blogging however. The NPA was unable to notify his daughters until latter in October prevented by intensified fighting.
The 2011 ABS-CBN
soap opera Minsan Lang Kita Iibigin
partly dramatizes a group similar to the NPA and their fight against the Philippine military and government.
Filipino language
This move has drawn much criticism from other regional groups.In 1987, a new constitution introduced many provisions for the language.Article XIV, Section 6, omits any mention of Tagalog as the basis for Filipino, and states that:...
: Bagong Hukbong Bayan) is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines
Communist Party of the Philippines
The Communist Party of the Philippines is a leading communist party in the Philippines. It remains an underground political organization since its founding on December 26, 1968 and has been operating in clandestine manner since its founding...
. It was formed on March 29, 1969. The Maoist NPA conducts its armed guerrilla struggle based on the strategical line of 'protracted people's war'.
The NPA exacts so called "revolutionary taxes" from business owners. If not paid, negative repercussions could happen to the person and/or business.
Formation
The NPA's roots can be traced from the HukbalahapHukbalahap
The Hukbalahap , was the military arm of the Communist Party of the Philippines , formed in 1942 to fight the Japanese Empire's occupation of the Philippines during World War II. It fought a second war from 1946 to 1954 against the pro-Western leaders of their newly independent country...
, the armed wing of the earlier pro-Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
Philippine Communist Party
Philippine Communist Party
The original Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas was established on November 7, 1930, and it is now often called PKP-1930 to separate it from its far more known splinter-group, the Communist Party of the Philippines.-History:The party was established on November 7, 1930...
. The Huks first mobilized and fought against the Japanese Empire
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
's occupation of the Philippines during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Under the leadership of Luis Taruc
Luis Taruc
Luis Taruc was a Filipino political figure and communist insurgent. He was the leader of the Hukbalahap rebel group between 1942 and 1954. His involvement with the movement came after his initiation to the problems of agrarian Filipinos when he was a student in the early 1930s...
and Communist Party General Secretary Jose Maria Sison, the Hukbalahap continued waging guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
against the United States military presence and the first independent governments before largely surrendering to President Ramon Magsaysay
Ramon Magsaysay
Ramón del Fierro Magsaysay was the third President of the Republic of the Philippines from December 30, 1953 until his death in a plane crash in 1957. He was elected President under the banner of the Nacionalista Party.-Early life:Ramon F...
in 1954. By the early 1960s the communist Huk campaign was waning.
After the Sino-Soviet split
Sino-Soviet split
In political science, the term Sino–Soviet split denotes the worsening of political and ideologic relations between the People's Republic of China and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics during the Cold War...
, communist parties around the world fractured into pro-USSR
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and Maoist
Maoism
Maoism, also known as the Mao Zedong Thought , is claimed by Maoists as an anti-Revisionist form of Marxist communist theory, derived from the teachings of the Chinese political leader Mao Zedong . Developed during the 1950s and 1960s, it was widely applied as the political and military guiding...
groups. The upstart CPP broke from the older Soviet-line Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas-1930 on December 26, 1968. Three months later, on March 29, 1969, the CPP reformed the vanguard party
Vanguard party
A vanguard party is a political party at the forefront of a mass action, movement, or revolution. The idea of a vanguard party has its origins in the Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels...
's old militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
, the Huks, and renamed them the New People's Army, on the anniversary of the date that the guerrilla resistance against Imperial Japan was formed in 1942. The formation was created when José María Sison
José María Sison
Jose Maria Sison is a writer and activist who reorganized the Communist Party of the Philippines and added elements of Maoism to its philosophy....
met with a former Huk, Bernabe Buscayno
Bernabe Buscayno
Bernabe Buscayno, also called Kumander Dante, is the founder of the New People's Army, the military wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines.-Early life:Bernabe Buscayno was one of eight children born to impoverished tenant farmers in Capas, Tarlac...
, also known as "Commander Dante".
The NPA is Maoist, claiming to fight for that ideology's concept of "New Democracy
New Democracy
New Democracy or the New Democratic Revolution is a Maoist concept based on Mao Zedong's "Bloc of Four Social Classes" theory during post-revolutionary China which argues that democracy in China will take a decisively distinct path from either the liberal capitalist and/or parliamentary democratic...
." Starting out with 60 fighters and 34 rifles, the NPA quickly spread throughout the Philippines during the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos. After the declaration of martial law
Martial law
Martial law is the imposition of military rule by military authorities over designated regions on an emergency basis— only temporary—when the civilian government or civilian authorities fail to function effectively , when there are extensive riots and protests, or when the disobedience of the law...
on September 21, 1972 thousands of students joined the ranks. President Marcos lifted martial law on January 17, 1981.
At its peak in the early 1980s there were over 25,000 fighters. Current strength is estimated at 6,000.
The NPA has been described as a terrorist
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
organization by the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Second Great Rectification Movement
In the 1990s internal criticism about mistakes in the 1980s led to the Second Great Rectification Movement, launched in 1992 and largely completed in 1998, leading to a resurgence in the Philippine revolution. The Second Rectification ended a massive internal purge of the movement that killed thousands of partisans and members on accusations of being deep penetration agents of the Armed Forces of the PhilippinesArmed Forces of the Philippines
The Armed Forces of the Philippines is composed of the Philippine Army, Philippine Navy and Philippine Air Force...
and the Philippine intelligence community
National Intelligence Coordinating Agency
The National Intelligence Coordinating Agency is the primary intelligence gathering and analysis arm of the Philippine government, in charge of carrying out overt, covert, and clandestine intelligence programs...
. Former NPA fighter Robert Francis Garcia chronicled the wild murders in his book To Suffer Thy Comrades and organized the Peace Advocates for Truth, Healing and Justice (PATH), a group composed of survivors of the "purges" and the families of victims and their friends and supporters. Due to this 'Rectification Movement', NPA rebels have been reported to have apologized to affected communities and even offered compensation for the victims of the purges† while some of its leaders are being reeducated or executed through the People's Court due to their crimes against the movement and the people.
The Rectification Movement, despite its successes and apologies to the people regarding their wrongfully-made actions, also resulted to a series of splits within the Party and even the People's Army. The once-popular Alex Boncayao Brigade, famous and notorious for targeting policemen and corrupt officials, bolted out of the party while some end up forming groups such as the Revolutionary Proletarian Army and the Rebolusyonaryong Hukbong Bayan.
The NPA claims responsibility for the assassination of U.S. Army Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
James "Nick" Rowe
James N. Rowe
James Nicholas "Nick" Rowe was a United States Army officer and one of only thirty-four American prisoners of war to escape captivity during the Vietnam War...
, founder of the U.S. Army Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) course, in 1989. Colonel Rowe was part of a military assistance program to the Philippine Army. The NPA insist that this made him a legitimate military target.
Post 9/11
This group was designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in August 2002 and by the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
in November 2005. The NPA's founder, Jose Maria Sison
José María Sison
Jose Maria Sison is a writer and activist who reorganized the Communist Party of the Philippines and added elements of Maoism to its philosophy....
, lives in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
in self-imposed exile
Exile
Exile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...
. The NPA operates mostly in the rural areas and their targets often include politicians, military, police, criminals, landlords, business owners and occasionally U.S. agents in the Philippines.
In 1995 the CPP issued a communique approving of same-sex relationships and in 2005 the first gay marriage of two NPA cadre was performed.
The Arroyo
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is a Filipino politician who served as the 14th President of the Philippines from 2001 to 2010, as the 12th Vice President of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, and is currently a member of the House of Representatives representing the 2nd District of Pampanga...
administration has been negotiating intermittently with delegates of NPA in European countries.
In March 2007 Rep. Satur Ocampo
Satur Ocampo
Saturnino Cunanan Ocampo is a former Filipino partylist representative, journalist, and writer. As party president and first nominee, he led the partylist group Bayan Muna in three successful elections. He was a member of the House of Representatives, and Deputy Minority Leader in the 14th...
was arrested on charges of murder relating to purges within the CPP/NPA alleged to have occurred during the 1980s. Leftists
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
see it as part of a campaign of persecution against them.
On January, 2008, Avelino Razon, Philippine National Police chief claimed that the New People's Army (NPA) rebels have only 5,700 members as of 2007 due to military destruction of 13 guerrilla bases (lowest level in 20 years). NPAs fought in 69 of 81 Philippine provinces since 1969. Forty thousand people have died in the conflict.
Amnesty Proclamation
On September 5, 2007, President Gloria Macapagal-ArroyoGloria Macapagal-Arroyo
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is a Filipino politician who served as the 14th President of the Philippines from 2001 to 2010, as the 12th Vice President of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, and is currently a member of the House of Representatives representing the 2nd District of Pampanga...
signed Amnesty Proclamation 1377 for members of the Communist Party of the Philippines
Communist Party of the Philippines
The Communist Party of the Philippines is a leading communist party in the Philippines. It remains an underground political organization since its founding on December 26, 1968 and has been operating in clandestine manner since its founding...
and its armed wing, the New People's Army; other communist rebel groups; and their umbrella organization, the National Democratic Front (Philippines)
National Democratic Front (Philippines)
National Democratic Front is a coalition of far left leaning political parties, churches , agricultural unions, trade unions, and other related groups in the Philippines...
. The amnesty
Amnesty
Amnesty is a legislative or executive act by which a state restores those who may have been guilty of an offense against it to the positions of innocent people, without changing the laws defining the offense. It includes more than pardon, in as much as it obliterates all legal remembrance of the...
will cover the crime of rebellion and all other crimes "in pursuit of political beliefs," but not including crimes against chastity, rape, torture, kidnapping for ransom, use and trafficking of illegal drugs and other crimes for personal ends and violations of international law or convention and protocols "even if alleged to have been committed in pursuit of political beliefs." The National Committee on Social Integration (NCSI) will issue a Certificate of Amnesty to qualified applicants. Implementing rules and regulations are being drafted and the decree will be submitted to the Senate of the Philippines
Senate of the Philippines
The Senate of the Philippines is the upper chamber of the bicameral legislature of the Philippines, the Congress of the Philippines...
and the House of Representatives of the Philippines
House of Representatives of the Philippines
The House of Representatives of the Philippines is the lower chamber of the...
for their concurrence. The proclamation becomes effective only after Congress has concurred.
Lucena Prison Raid
NPA rebels disguised as Philippine Drug Enforcement AgencyPhilippine Drug Enforcement Agency
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency is the lead anti-drugs law enforcement agency, responsible for preventing, investigating and combating any dangerous drugs, controlled precursors and essential chemicals within the Philippines...
personnel had raided a prison in Lucena, Quezon Province, overpowering the guards and freeing their comrades deemed to be political prisoners. Two of the seven people deemed political prisoners did not escape with the NPA raiders, opting to be cleared of any wrongdoing by legal means as they were activists.
Other NPA rebels held in other prisons were to be moved into secured facilities.
Morong 43
There were 43 people arrested at community health meeting in Morong,Rizal on February 6, 2010. They were accused of being part of the NPA. On December 10, 2010, President Begnino Aquino ordered the release of 38 of 43 because the Morong 43 case had due process violations. The last 5 admitted being part of the NPA and are being prosecuted for various criminal offenses including murder, rape, extortion, and other offenses.Foreign Presence
An arrest of Maoist Naxalite guerrillasNaxalite
The word Naxal, Naxalite or Naksalvadi is a generic term used to refer to various militant Communist groups operating in different parts of India under different organizational envelopes...
by Indian security forces have brought news that NPA rebels have traveled to India to teach them how to conduct guerrilla warfare against the army and police.
Notable NPA leaders and figures
Georgio "The Singing Terrorist" Rosal 1947-2011. (Ka Rodger), Spokesperson for the NPA, and media liaison. Rosal was later a blogger for the party, as technology progressed and the genial "face" of the NPA.So called Singing Terrorist, Rosal played the Harmonica and sung while travelling with media. He self dubbed himself the title jokingly suggesting to title a caption.Rosal died of a heart attack, in summer of 2011 after a series of strokes, since contracting Typhoid fever
Typhoid fever
Typhoid fever, also known as Typhoid, is a common worldwide bacterial disease, transmitted by the ingestion of food or water contaminated with the feces of an infected person, which contain the bacterium Salmonella enterica, serovar Typhi...
in 1995 , that greatly disabled his capabilities, he managed to continue blogging however. The NPA was unable to notify his daughters until latter in October prevented by intensified fighting.
In Popular Culture
The New People's Army was often romanticized as heroes or villains in movies. During the late 1980s, after the EDSA Revolution, movies such as Dante, Victor Corpus, Alex Boncayao Brigade, Sparrow, and Balweg, Rebel Priest features prominent leaders and members of the Revolutionary Movement.The 2011 ABS-CBN
ABS-CBN
ABS–CBN Corporation is a Philippine-based media conglomerate. It is the Philippines' largest media and entertainment conglomerate. The corporation was the merger of Alto Broadcasting System which at that time owned by James Lindenberg and Antonio Quirino, and the Chronicle Broadcasting Network ...
soap opera Minsan Lang Kita Iibigin
Minsan Lang Kita Iibigin
Minsan Lang Kita Iibigin is a critically acclaimed Philippine family military drama series that aired on ABS CBN. It features an ensemble cast, including award-winning actor, Coco Martin.-Plot:...
partly dramatizes a group similar to the NPA and their fight against the Philippine military and government.
External links
- Project Ploughshares - Armed Conflict Report 2002, Philippines-CPP/NPA
- U.S. Department of State - Philippine Communist Party Designated Foreign Terrorist Group
- Statement of the NDFP Negotiating Panel in defense to the U.S. declaring CPP/NPA as a terrorist organization
- New People's Army(archived from the original on 2008-02-25) Extract of article about NPA's tactics and strategy, May 2006 (full article needs subscription)
- Philippine Revolution Web Central