DND scoffs at communist rebels’ plan to deploy urban hit squads

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Defense (DND) on Sunday scoffed at communist rebels’ threat to again deploy liquidation squads, with Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana saying that the announcement only affirmed the government’s position that the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA) are truly terrorist organizations.

“We dare Mr. [Jose Maria] Sison to bring on his terror threats,” Lorenzana said, referring to the 81-year-old CPP founder who has enjoyed political asylum in the Netherlands since 1988.

“[But] by ‘partisan units,’ Mr. Sison is actually referring to his ‘terrorist NPA assassins’ targeting government officials and unarmed noncombatant civilians,” said the 72-year-old Lorenzana, who spent 31 years in the Philippine Army fighting the CPP-NPA.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines said it was aware of the CPP-NPA’s plan to redeploy its hit squads.

Maj. Gen. Edgard Arevalo, spokesperson for the AFP, said the military was aware of the plan. The CPP-NPA had been threatening to send out liquidation squads since 2018, the same year President Duterte vowed to create a special military unit to go after communist hit squads. INQ