A flag bearing the logo of the CPP-NPA. (File photo from the Philippine Army)
MANILA, Philippines — The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) “firmly” rejected on Tuesday the offer of amnesty made by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. in his second State of the Nation Address.
The president’s offer is backed by the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
“The Communist Party of the Philippines and the New People’s Army will firmly reject Marcos’s treacherous offer of amnesty and surrender,” CPP spokesperson Marco Valbuena said in a statement.
“The revolutionary cause for genuine national freedom and social justice is far greater than any Marcos offer of amnesty. Revolutionaries are motivated not by the selfish desire for some personal gain, rather by the selfless devotion to serve and struggle with the people.”
Valbuena said that Marcos was “seriously mistaken” to think that the NPA would “line up to gain a few individual concessions in exchange for giving up the much bigger people’s cause which they have committed themselves to.”
Established on March 29, 1969, the NPA had 25,000 members at its height around 1987, according to an AFP estimate.
To date, the NPA is present in around 200 barangays with 1,800 members, according to the AFP.