Tacloban: The number of active members of the New People’s Army (NPA) in Region 8 has decreased by approximately 76 percent over the past six years, dropping to 119 from 499 in 2019. This decline is attributed to the institutionalization of national and local task forces dedicated to ending local communist armed conflict (ELCAC).
According to Philippines News Agency, the reduction in NPA members is a result of collaborative efforts between various national government agencies and local government units. Lt. Col. Joemar Buban, assistant chief of staff for civil-military operations of the Philippine Army’s 8th Infantry Division, shared that this campaign has led to 461 combat engagements, the neutralization of 791 NPA members, the seizure of 1,124 firearms, the discovery of 620 NPA hideouts, and the recovery of 703 anti-personnel mines from January 1, 2018, to December 31, 2024.
The campaign has also dismantled NPA front committees, prompting approximately 13,862 members of different left-leaning groups to withdraw their support. Among them, around 1,982 individuals renounced their membership from the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), 7,625 withdrew their support, and 4,255 conceded memberships from underground mass organizations (UGMOs).
The CPP-NPA had previously established UGMOs within open sectoral organizations and alliances to further their armed activities and terrorist operations. However, Buban noted that the current efforts have reached a turning point where the rate of neutralization has surpassed the rate of recruitment, although some remnants still exist in the mountainous areas of the region.
Buban emphasized that the focus is not solely on military actions but also on addressing the root causes of the insurgency. The region has seen a six percent growth in Gross Regional Domestic Product from 2021 to 2023, which is attributed to these peace efforts.
The whole-of-nation approach, involving cooperation among basic service providers from the central government, community participation groups from local governments, and the security sector from the military and police, is credited for weakening the NPA in Eastern Visayas.
