• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Negros Island has allegedly become a training ground for new recruits of the New People’s Army (NPA), including young people from Metro Manila and foreign nationals, as authorities intensify investigations into civilian killings and other alleged atrocities linked to the communist insurgency.
Noel Legaspi, president of Buklod Kapayapaan Federation Inc. (BKFI) and a former Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) official, made the claim during this week’s FAQCheck press conference, saying remnants of the CPP-NPA were attempting to replenish their depleted ranks by bringing recruits from other regions to Negros despite declining public support.
“Negros Island is now a training ground for the future cadre,” Legaspi said, citing the April 19 encounter in Toboso, Negros Occidental, involving three individuals from Metro Manila and two Americans, as an example of recruitment extending beyond the island.
Prosecutor Flosemer Chris Gonzales, spokesperson of the Joint Regional Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict-6, said recruitment activities were taking place alongside expanding investigations into alleged NPA killings, particularly the execution of civilians accused of being government informants, commonly referred to as spy-tagging cases.
Gonzales said affidavits executed by former rebels since 2019 were being reviewed by the Philippine Army’s 3rd Infantry Division, police and intelligence authorities to identify alleged perpetrators, locate witnesses and reopen previously unresolved cases.
Authorities are also investigating possible terrorism-financing violations involving individuals and groups allegedly providing support to the CPP-NPA and their political wing, the National Democratic Front (NDF), he said.
“Dito rin binabalikan natin ang mga grupo, personalidad na nagbibigay suporta sa CPP-NPA-NDF at kine-case build na natin ‘yan sa terrorism financing,” Gonzales said.
He added that more than 500 individuals in Negros could potentially provide information against NPA operatives, including former rebels and people allegedly affected by intimidation.
The continuing killings, he said, have fueled resentment among victims’ families and affected communities.
Gonzales also cited the April 19 Toboso encounter, saying an NPA commander killed during the incident allegedly had outstanding warrants for multiple murders involving civilians accused of being government informants.
He said this contradicted claims portraying everyone involved in the encounter as researchers or political activists.
Gonzales said the Commission on Human Rights had also begun investigating some civilian killings while efforts were underway to bring reports of alleged atrocities to international human rights bodies.
Moreover, Legaspi criticized the communist movement’s continued adherence to its protracted people’s war strategy despite changing social and political conditions and repeated setbacks.
He said that the CPP-NPA failure to regain public support had driven some NPA units toward intimidation rather than political organizing.
Legaspi also questioned the movement’s efforts to portray itself internationally as a belligerent force exercising revolutionary justice, alleging that such messaging was intended to maintain foreign support and generate funding.
Legaspi said the BKFI, which has 17 regional federations nationwide, was helping former rebels reintegrate into society through education, livelihood assistance and organizational support.
He also urged the public to participate in the Protect Negros Island Network scheduled for launching in December. | GPB
