• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
As the New People’s Army (NPA) marked its 57th founding year, the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) said “there is nothing worth celebrating in a movement built on decades of violence, deception, and shattered communities”.
In a statement on Sunday, March 29, NTF-ELCAC Executive Director Ernesto Torres Jr. said the NPA’s anniversary should instead be a moment of national reckoning.
“For 57 years, what has been offered is not liberation, but bloodshed — violence disguised as ideology, and a struggle that has only deepened poverty and suffering,” Torres said.
He stressed “there is nothing to celebrate in a movement that thrives on fear and exploits the very people it claims to serve.”
Torres said “the legacy of the insurgency is written not in victories, but in lost lives, broken families, and communities held hostage by intimidation and false promises.”
Still, the NTF-ELCAC chief pointed to what he described as a decisive and irreversible shift on the ground.
“Across the country, from the farthest barangays to our urban centers, Filipinos are choosing peace — freely, consciously, and in growing numbers,” Torres said.
He added that “former rebels are laying down arms, families are being reunited, and communities are reclaiming their future.”
Torres said these developments are not isolated gains, but “clear, measurable signs” that the decades-long insurgency is nearing its end.
“This is no longer just a security campaign. This is a whole-of-nation movement anchored on truth, justice, and genuine opportunity,” he noted.
At the same time, he warned that the threat has evolved, shifting from the battlefield to more insidious forms of recruitment, particularly among the youth.
“For decades, recruitment has not begun with armed struggle, but with manipulation— through misinformation, emotional coercion, and the systematic erosion of critical thinking. These are the hallmarks of terrorist grooming,” Torres said.
He underscored the need to confront these tactics head-on, not through suppression, but through truth and collective action.
“We must answer falsehood with facts. We must counter division with unity. And we must replace fear with real opportunities for education, livelihood, and participation in nation-building,” he added. | GB
