NSA’s Año vows to end NPA during President Marcos term

MANILA, Philippines — Again setting a self-imposed deadline, National Security Adviser Eduardo Año has renewed his vow to end the country’s insurgency problem, this time within the next four years of the current administration.

In a statement yesterday, he said that with the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), the government will totally crush the New People’s Army (NPA), the armed component of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), within the term of President Marcos.

“The NTF-ELCAC continues to achieve significant and laudable milestones from the very beginning. Under the Marcos administration, we will carry on with these achievements and we will make sure that during his administration, we will be able to completely crush these peace-spoilers,” Año, also concurrent NTF-ELCAC co-vice chair, said during the first semester presentation of accomplishment report from the agency’s different clusters and regional task forces.

The NTF-ELCAC, created by Executive Order (EO) 70 in 2018, is chaired by the President, with the Vice President, Sara Duterte, as co-vice chair. Duterte recently resigned her NTF-ELCAC position after she tendered her resignation as education secretary.

After more than five years of aggressive implementation of its multi-pronged political and socio-economic programs and strategies, Año said the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has been successful in destroying the politico-military component of all the 89 active NPA guerrilla fronts since 2018.

“Notably, in the last two quarters, four CTG (communist terrorist group) units have been dismantled. We’re also on the verge of completely dismantling the remaining seven weakened guerilla fronts. We expect that the remaining guerilla fronts will be dismantled within the year or the next,” Año said.

He emphasized that sustained operations under the “whole-of-government” approach, meaning the close collaboration of different government agencies, local government units (LGUs) and the security sector, led to the surrender of 44,528 NPA personalities. 

Año explained, however, that the number doesn’t mean all are NPA rebels, with the majority of them being either supporters or sympathizers, though figures “include the neutralization of 37 key leaders in this semester.”

He noted that in kinetic operations, the AFP and Philippine National Police (PNP) would recover different kinds of firearms and explosives from NPA terrorists alongside body counts and captured members.

Recently, at least 10 NPA members including their leader perished during an encounter with Philippine Army soldiers in Pantabangan, Nueva Ecija.

Año pointed-out that since EO 70 was established, a total of 7,587 firearms of different high and low calibers were surrendered and, of the number, 738 were surrendered during the first semester of 2024 alone.

“We hope that these numbers, threats of armed conflict across the country will also significantly dwindle,” he said, noting that based on the NTF-ELCAC’s Peace, Law Enforcement, and Development Support (PLEDS) Cluster report, the NPA strength is now down to only 1,251 nationwide.

“I am beyond proud and grateful to witness how our collective visions – once seemingly insurmountable – are, little by little, realized. Especially seeing the much sought after transformations now happening among our fellow citizens and their communities,” Año added.

Back in March 2019, Año, then interior and local government secretary, had vowed to put an end to the country’s NPA problems within the term of former president Rodrigo Duterte.

“In two years’ time, the CPP-NPA will be finished,” he said, three years before the death of CCP founder Jose Maria Sison in December 2022.