The National Security Council on Friday said President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. ordered the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to dismantle all remaining 11 New People’s Army (NPA) units this year to ensure a safer and more prosperous future for all Filipinos.
In a statement, National Security Adviser Secretary Eduardo Año said the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF ELCAC) anti-communist roadmap will be implemented until the end of the Marcos Administration.
Año also emphasized the AFP's role in transitioning from internal to external defense during West Philippine Sea tensions.
"Our goal is to dismantle the 11 weakened guerrilla fronts by the end of the year, and this will also include dismantling 26 vertical units and party organs within the 27 sub-regional committees and 40 regional party committees," Año said.
"So even though our Armed Forces are transitioning from internal to external roles, there are still many roles for the Armed Forces here," Año added.
NSC Spokesperson Asst. Director-General Jonathan Malaya, for his part, said that the Armed Forces has taken the initiative and brought the battle to the last remaining weakened guerilla fronts and remnants of the New Peoples Army across the country.
"Every day, you will hear in the news of AFP-initiated operations against NPA units. They are on the run and strategically defeated and our objective is to take the battle to their hide-outs so that we can finally finish them off as directed by the President," said Malaya.
He said that military operations are ongoing in Abra, Northern Samar, the Bicol region, and other areas with more on the planning stages.
"These operations are initiated by the military to totally wipe them out and we will see more of these in the coming months, rain or shine," he said.
Malaya said that the targets set by the AFP to their field units have resulted in an increased number of armed encounters between the security forces and the insurgents, as well as with terrorist organizations across the country.
"Key to the success of our operations [is] the information provided by the public. The intelligence value of these tips cannot be underestimated. Maraming salamat sa ating mga kababayan sa kanayunan," Malaya added.
For his part, AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. said the military has set deadlines for its ground units to dismantle the remaining weakened NPA guerilla fronts, vertical units, regional party committees, and sub-regional committees.
"Almost every day, we have armed encounters - not just between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the members of the New People's Army but also with the local terrorist groups. So, we launched expansive and intensive military operations against all of these threat groups," Brawner said.
"And once the AFP successfully ends the communist insurgency, it can consolidate all its forces to solely external defense," he said.
