MANILA, Philippines (Updated Oct. 26, 2024 3:23 p.m.) — The "acting chairman" of the Communist Party of the Philippines was arrested in Quezon City on Thursday, October 24, marking what security officials call a "major step" in the government's anti-insurgency campaign.
In a statement on Friday, October 25, National Security Adviser Eduardo Año said Wigberto "Baylon" Villarico was apprehended during a joint operation by the military and regional police, including members of the Philippine National Police's Criminal Investigation and Detection Group.
The alleged CPP leader was arrested on kidnapping with murder charges based on an arrest warrant issued by a Quezon regional trial court, the military said in a statement.
According to the National Security Council, Villarico took over the CPP's leadership following the death of Benito Tiamzon in a military encounter in Samar in August 2022.
His arrest is a “significant victory in neutralizing the CPP’s leadership structure," Año said.
Año described Villarico as "the last Communist leader at large capable of commanding both the party and its armed wing, the New People's Army."
"Villarico's capture closes the chapter on a terrorist fugitive responsible for numerous atrocities against the people," he added.
While the CPP did not confirm whether Villarico is its acting chairperson, the party's chief information officer, Marco Valbuena, told Philstar.com in an email message that Villarico is a peace consultant who has actively advocated for sectorial issues in the Southern Tagalog region.
The CPP has condemned Villarico's arrest, saying in a statement that his rights must be respected and that he be immediately released.
They also call for the withdrawal of all "trumped-up charges" against him and for him to be allowed access to his own lawyer and a doctor of his choice.
"Villarico is 68 years old and suffers from various ailments and is in need of medical attention. He suffers from spondylitis, hypertension, heart arythmia, asthma, prostate enlargement and others," the party said.
"His arrest and detention, along with his companion Marjorie Lizada, was carried out at the height of a tropical storm which he was closely monitoring to help advise the NDFP's forces in organizing and mobilizing assistance and resources to those in need," it added.
As a peace consultant, Villarico is protected by the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG), which the Philippine government agreed to uphold, the CPP statement said.
"The arrest of Villarico is in blatant disregard of the JASIG. The military and police responsible for Villarico's arrest must be held responsible for this violation," Valbuena stated.
Villarico is the third peace consultant arrested by authorities in recent weeks, according to the CPP, following the arrests of Porferio Tuna in Tagum City, Davao del Norte, and Simeon Naogsan in Ilocos Norte.
Valbuena argued that these successive arrests aim to derail efforts to revive peace negotiations, which both sides have been working on based on the Oslo Joint Declaration signed in November 2023. "Clearly, some elements within the Marcos regime do not want these efforts to succeed," he said.
What went before. In 2023, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. confirmed the government was engaged in preliminary talks with the communist movement through back-channel negotiations in Oslo, Norway. This was facilitated by the Norwegian government, which has served as a third-party facilitator for peace negotiations between the Philippine government and the CPP-New People's Army-National Democratic Front since 2001.
Both parties signed a joint statement in Oslo in November 2023 agreeing to a "principled and peaceful resolution of the armed conflict." The statement indicated that both sides would work toward establishing guidelines for moving forward with formal peace negotiations. The Philippine government, however, had also ruled out a ceasefire.
This marked a shift from the approach of the previous Duterte administration, which had terminated peace talks in 2017 and declared the CPP-NPA as a terrorist organization.
The government aims to end its decades-long campaign against the communist insurgency by the end of 2024 to shift its focus from internal to external defense.
Over five decades of hostilities between the government and the NPA — the longest-running active rebellion in Asia — have resulted in an estimated 40,000 deaths, including civilians.
In the past, the CPP has expressed willingness to resume peace negotiations with the government as long as it addresses the root conflict of armed conflict through economic reforms. This includes a long-sought agreement that will guarantee agrarian reform and rural development, national industrialization and free land distribution to farmers.