NPA releases ‘spy’ wanted posters amid reports of killings

The New People’s Army released ‘wanted’ posters on social media of two individuals allegedly involved in counter-revolutionary activities in the Southern Tagalog region.

In two separate posts on the Facebook page of “Villager's Point of View 2.0,” the NPA accused Gerald Mangao and Erick Simogan of colluding with the Armed Forces of the Philippines in red-tagging, in what could be the latest case of spy tagging that resulted in the summary execution of civilians.

The posts urge the public to inform NPA units and formations of their whereabouts.

The page shares articles from the Philippine Revolution Web Central, the official web page of the National Democratic Front, its military arm New People’s Army, and the Communist Party of the Philippines.

Retired military officer Mario Chico, former director for strategic communications at the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), said the release of “wanted poster” on social media is a serious case of spy tagging.

Chico is the former spokesperson of the 8th Infantry Division based in Catbalogan City.

“Historical data shows na kapag tinag ka na Kontra Rebolusyunaryo at Masamang Elemento (KRME) ng CPP-NPA-NDF is a death sentence carried out by its SPARU Kill Squad,” Chico said.

SPARU stands for Special Partisan Unit, a designated hit squad of the NPA tasked with the assassination, liquidation, or murder of government security personnel, officials, and individuals labeled as “enemies of the people.”

Chico said the CPP-NPA-NDF would usually post the faces of their former members to instill fear in others of their death sentence.

Recently, spy-tagging resulted in the death of a 74-year-old woman in Kabankalan City, who was shot at close range by attackers who identified themselves as NPA members.

Since early last year, NTF-ELCAC has documented at least 25 killings of civilians – including farmers, laborers, tricycle drivers, barangay officials, forest guards, vendors, and community leaders – after being branded as informants.

According to the task force, these killings were even claimed by NPA units and formations, showing not only intent but also a disturbing pride in targeting unarmed people.