MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte, who is recently appointed as co-vice chair to the government’s anti-insurgency body, is intending to put an end to the decades-long rebellion of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA).
This was revealed Friday by National Security Council (NSC) deputy director general Jonathan Malaya, saying it was declared by Duterte during a meeting of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict’s (NTF-Elcac) executive committee on May 10. Malaya attended the meeting.
“Sa tingin namin, si VP Sara Duterte ay isa sa mga pinakamagandang magiging simbolo ng ating panawagan para sa kapayapaan sa ating bansa, para, sabi nga niya, tapusin na itong protracted people’s war sa panahon ng Marcos administration,” Malaya said in a public briefing.
(We think that VP Sara Duterte will be one of the best symbols of our call for peace in our country, so that, as she said, this protracted people’s war must already end during the Marcos administration.)
Vice President Sara Duterte, who is recently appointed as co-vice chair to the government’s anti-insurgency body, is eyeing to put an end to the decades-long rebellion of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA), according to a government official.INDAY SARA DUTERTE / SAVED JULY 6, 2022 Vice President Sara Duterte Photo from Inday Sara Duterte FB page
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For more than five decades, the CPP and its armed wing NPA has been waging a “protracted people’s war,” which is a military strategy developed by China’s leader Mao Zedong.
Malaya said the government is on track to end the Maoist insurgency as the so-called “guerrilla fronts” of the NPA have been greatly diminished.
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According to the NSC official, 75 percent of all NPA guerrilla fronts have been dismantled and that only 22 of the original 89 fronts remain.
Of the 22, he added, 20 are weakened while two NPA guerrilla fronts – both located in Samar – maintain a strong presence.
READ: AFP: NPA down to 2,000 fighters, guerrilla fronts slashed by 74 percent
“Abot-kamay na natin ang kapayapaan sa bansa,” he said.
(Peace in the country is within our reach.)
Based on the military’s estimates, the NPA currently has around 2,112 forces with 1,800 weapons in its arsenal.
The NPA was established on March 29, 1969.
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