On the eve of the New People’s Army’s (NPA) 57th anniversary, the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) delivered a blunt message: there is nothing worth celebrating in a movement built on decades of violence, deception, and shattered communities.
In a strongly worded statement, NTF-ELCAC Executive Director Usec. Ernesto C. Torres Jr. said the CPP-NPA-NDF’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. “There is nothing to celebrate in a movement that thrives on fear and exploits the very people it claims to serve.”
Torres stressed that 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.
But amid this grim history, 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,” he said. “Former rebels are laying down arms. Families are being reunited. Communities are reclaiming their future.”
He emphasized that 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,” Torres added.
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,” he pointed out.
Torres 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 said.
Calling peace an “active, daily choice,” the NTF-ELCAC appealed to all sectors—government, civil society, schools, faith groups, and the private sector—to unite in what it described as the “final push” to end the insurgency.
“Let us listen to the voices of former rebels who chose peace. Let us support families protecting their children from radicalization. And let us honor the victims by ensuring no Filipino is ever again misled into a life of violence,” Torres said.
He concluded with a clear challenge to the nation:
“The path forward is clear. Not armed struggle, but shared responsibility. Not imposed ideology, but democratic values tested by truth. Not division, but unity.”
“Peace is at hand—and it is ours to sustain.”