MANILA, (PIA) — The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) has condemned the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) for its recent extortion directive aimed at politicians in the lead-up to the May elections.
The anti-insurgency task force, through Undersecretary Ernesto C. Torres Jr., Executive Director of NTF-ELCAC, dismissed the CPP’s claims of protecting the people’s rights as hollow and contemptible.
The CPP has announced its intent to enforce policies regarding campaigning in rural areas, but Torres questioned the group’s capability, asking, “With what army?”
The New People’s Army (NPA), the armed wing of the CPP, has reportedly been reduced to “a small number of dispirited, disorganized and desperate armed bandits, with 88 out of its 89 guerilla fronts dismantled,” according to Torres.
The once-feared organization, he said, is now described as a “paper tiger,” relying on social media and propaganda rather than actual armed might.
The NTF-ELCAC criticized the CPP’s long-standing rhetoric that “political power grows out of the barrel of a gun,” noting that the NPA’s extortion tactics are based on a false sense of control over rural territories.
Torres emphasized that the NPA no longer possesses significant firepower and lacks the support of local communities, particularly those benefiting from government peace and development initiatives.
“Our troops will continue to ensure clean elections and prevent exploitation by communist terrorist groups,” he then assured.
Meanwhile, Torres also urged candidates for national and local positions to reject the CPP’s threats and extortion efforts, emphasizing the importance of maintaining the integrity of the electoral process.
The task force highlighted that, despite the CPP’s public rejection of electoral participation, internal documents suggest that the group is actively seeking to regain political power through elections.
This includes directives to its legal fronts and party-list groups to reclaim lost seats in the House of Representatives and gather resources to revive the NPA.
“Let us work together to ensure that the upcoming elections are clean, honest, and reflective of the will of the Filipino people,” Torres said.
He urged all candidates to resist the tactics of communist terrorist groups and uphold the sanctity of democracy. (JCO/PIA-NCR)
