ARMED Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. on Monday ordered ground commanders to destroy the remaining 11 guerrilla fronts of the communist New People’s Army (NPA) across the country.
Brawner said the relentless military operations against the communist movement have greatly weakened guerrilla forces, leading to the series of surrenders of several rebel leaders, especially after the demise of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founder Jose Ma. Sison on December 16, 2022.
He said his desire to annihilate the remaining CPP/NPA fronts was part of the paradigm shift in dealing with internal threats.
Brawner said that the number of rebel combatants had been reduced to 1,500 from 25,000.
“We were very happy to note that we have done a lot of accomplishments in terms of defeating the communist terrorist group and the local terrorist,” Brawner said.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Sunday said the CPP/NPA had no more active guerrilla fronts.
However, in the command conference held on Monday, the President was briefed on the status of the CPP/NPA and the existence of 11 inactive guerrilla fronts across the country.
Brawner said although weakened, the strength of the CPP/NPA is still a force to reckon with.
“There are still NPA formations out there trying to recover the areas that they have lost,” he said.
