NTF-ELCAC: Anicoche confirms presence in NPA camp, ties to CPP global network

The Philippine government’s decision to order the departure of Filipino-American Chantal Anicoche was grounded on her own admissions of being with the New People’s Army (NPA) during an armed encounter in Occidental Mindoro and her involvement with organizations abroad that form part of the Communist Party of the Philippines’ (CPP) international support network, the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) said Sunday.

In a statement issued following Anicoche’s exit from the country, Usec. Ernesto C. Torres Jr., Executive Director of NTF-ELCAC, stressed that the government’s actions were lawful, evidence-based, and driven by security and immigration considerations, not politics.

“The decision was not arbitrary, nor was it a political act. It was based on information that emerged during lawful processing, including Ms. Anicoche’s own disclosures regarding her activities and affiliations,” Torres said.

Anicoche was found alive near the site of a January 1 armed encounter between government forces and the New People’s Army in Abra de Ilog, where a young student was killed and another person was reported missing. Two government soldiers were wounded in the same incident.

During debriefing, Anicoche admitted that she had traveled to the Philippines to link up with the NPA and that she was staying in an NPA camp at the time of the encounter, Torres revealed.

She likewise acknowledged her involvement with organizations abroad that function as part of the CPP’s international political and support network, a constellation of groups that authorities say play roles in recruitment, fundraising, and ideological propagation for the armed movement.

“These circumstances, taken together, are clear security and immigration concerns that warranted decisive administrative action,” Torres emphasized.

The Order to Leave issued by the Bureau of Immigration, he clarified, is an administrative immigration measure grounded in law. It does not constitute a declaration of innocence nor validate claims portraying Anicoche as a victim of political persecution.

“At the same time,” Torres noted, “it allows relevant institutions in the Philippines and abroad to assess the matter further within their respective legal frameworks, especially since both the CPP and the NPA are designated terrorist organizations under Philippine law and are similarly recognized by other governments, including the United States.”

The NTF-ELCAC official warned that Anicoche’s case highlights a persistent and dangerous pattern: young people, including foreign nationals, being drawn into conflict zones through pathways described as advocacy, immersion, or international solidarity, which in reality intersect with recruitment, radicalization, and direct exposure to armed violence.

“No political narrative is worth a life, and no ideology justifies placing young people in harm’s way,” he pointed out.

The NTF-ELCAC also expressed concern that groups linked to Anicoche continued to circulate her name and images publicly without her or her family’s consent, even as authorities handled her case with restraint and respect for her dignity.

With Anicoche now out of the country, Torres said the Philippine government has fully discharged its obligations under the law, and responsibility for any further engagement properly rests with her home country and family.

The task force reaffirmed its commitment to exposing recruitment and grooming networks linked to armed groups, protecting communities, and advancing peace through accountability and development—warning the public against attempts to distort the outcome of the case into claims of vindication or government wrongdoing.

Such narratives, Torres said, only obscure the real dangers of armed conflict and the tragic consequences suffered by families who have lost loved ones after similar paths of radicalization.