New People's Army

New People's Army
Bagong Hukbong Bayan
Founders
LeaderVacant
Dates of operation1969–present[1]: 96 
Split to
Motives
Active regions1 guerrilla front (2023)[2]
Operates in 110 guerrilla fronts across 73 provinces in the Philippines (CPP claim, 2018)[3][non-primary source needed]
IdeologyCommunism
Marxism–Leninism–Maoism
National Democracy
Political positionFar-left
StatusActive
Size
  • 1,500 (as of December 2023)[4]
Part of
Allies
Opponents
Battles and warsCommunist armed conflicts in the Philippines
Designated as a terrorist group by
WebsitePhilippine Revolution Web Central
Preceded by
Hukbalahap
The current flag of the NPA

The New People's Army (Filipino: Bagong Hukbong Bayan; abbreviated NPA or BHB) is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).[15]: 119  It acts as the CPP's principal organization, aiming to consolidate political power from what it sees as the present "bourgeois reactionary puppet government" and to aid in the "people's democratic revolution".[15]: 119  Founded on March 29, 1969,[1]: 96  by the collaboration of Jose Maria Sison and former members of the Hukbalahap led by Bernabe Buscayno, the NPA has since waged a guerrilla war based on the Maoist strategy of protracted people's war.[16] The NPA is one of the key figures in the ongoing communist rebellion in the Philippines, the longest ongoing conflict in the country.

The NPA operates and is based primarily in the Philippine countryside,[3] where the CPP alleges it has established itself in 73 out of the country's 81 provinces, across over 110 guerrilla fronts.[3][non-primary source needed] In guerrilla zones where the NPA has entrenched itself, the CPP–NPA has established a People's Democratic Government (Gobyernong Bayan), which operates independently of the Philippine government. Within these zones, income taxes which would nominally go to the government treasury instead go to the NPA, which they use to fund community services.[17]

The NPA, as represented by the National Democratic Front of the Philippines, is a party to ongoing peace talks between the People's Democratic Government and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines. Peace negotiations have reached an impasse, with the Rodrigo Duterte administration unilaterally announcing the termination of peace talks in 2019.[18] Negotiations between the GRP and the NDFP stalled on signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on Socio-Economic Reforms (CASER),[19] and the issue of localized peace talks between individual units of the NPA.[20]

The Office of the President of the Philippines designated the NPA as a terrorist group, along with the CPP.[9][10] The United States[11] and the European Union[12] have designated the CPP–NPA as "foreign terrorist organizations" in 2002 and 2005, respectively. Japan's Public Security Intelligence Agency designated the NPA as a "major international terrorist organization" (主な国際テロ組織).[13]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference jmsfoundation was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Mendoza, John Eric (July 5, 2023). "NPA only has one active guerrilla front, says AFP chief". Inquirer.net. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c "Great Achievements of the CPP in 50 Years of Waging Revolution". September 8, 2018. Archived from the original on December 7, 2022. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  4. ^ https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1216269 [bare URL]
  5. ^ "Arms for Philippines NPA" (PDF).
  6. ^ "The Philippines' Maoist Guerillas Vow to Resist 'Imperialist China'". The Geopolitics. July 17, 2021. Archived from the original on March 29, 2023.
  7. ^ "The Maoist Guerrillas of the Philippines Are Now Pointing Their Guns at China". The News Lens. April 29, 2019. Archived from the original on December 6, 2022.
  8. ^ "(Outlawed) Philippine Communist Party declares war on Chinese companies". AsiaNews. Archived from the original on November 5, 2022.
  9. ^ a b Ballaran, Jhoanna (December 5, 2017). "Duterte declares CPP, NPA as terrorist organizations". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on December 6, 2017. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  10. ^ a b "Proclamation No. 374, s. 2017" (PDF). Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. December 5, 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 15, 2017. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  11. ^ a b "Foreign Terrorist Organizations". U.S. Department of State. Archived from the original on May 15, 2019. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  12. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference eucouncil was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ a b "主な国際テロ組織、世界のテロ・武装組織等の概要及び最近の動向" [Overview of major international terrorist organizations, global terrorist and armed groups, etc., and recent trends] (in Japanese). Public Security Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original on January 17, 2023. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference new-zealand-police was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ a b Sison, Jose Maria (2013). "Basic Rules of the New People's Army". Foundation for resuming the Philippine revolution : selected writings, 1968 to 1972. International Network for Philippine Studies. ISBN 978-1-62847-920-1.
  16. ^ Guerrero, Amado (December 1, 1974). Specific Characteristics of Our People's War.
  17. ^ Cupin, Bea (June 10, 2016). "NPA has 'right' to collect revolutionary tax – NDF". Rappler. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
  18. ^ "Duterte announces 'permanent termination' of peace talks with Reds". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  19. ^ IV, Antonio L. Colina (April 4, 2017). "NDF: CASER first, then ceasefire, or sign both simultaneously | MindaNews". Retrieved March 20, 2019.
  20. ^ "Gov't insists on localized peace talks with Reds". MindaNews. April 16, 2019. Retrieved December 4, 2019.