Opinion: NTF-Elcac: The black swan that will break the back of CPP

Opinion piece posted to the Manila Times (Jan 15, 2021): NTF-Elcac: The black swan that will break the back of CPP (By Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr.)



THE creation of the of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac) is a black swan — an unprecedented event — for the Communist Party of the Philippines and its affiliates, the New People’s Army and the National Democratic Front. Created by Executive Order 70, the NTF-Elcac came on the heels of the peace talks that the CPP-NPA-NDF has been negotiating as a ruse to achieve its insidious agenda. In fact, on June 14, 2018, the government was about to have a peace covenant signed by President Duterte for implementation with the assistance of the Norwegian government, if not for the intervention of the security sector. For lack of transparency on behalf of the government, the President canceled the talks. Instead, he gave specific orders for all to end local communist armed conflict.

Just two years after the task force was formed in December 2018, that synergy between the different agencies involved has created a monumental leap insofar as ending local armed conflict is concerned. With all government instrumentalities comprising the 12 pillars — local government empowerment, Stratcom, legal cooperation localized peace engagement, poverty reduction and livelihood, EClip and amnesty, international engagement, situational awareness and knowledge management, infrastructure and resource generation, public safety, law enforcement and development support — the NTF-Elcac has effectively addressed all the CTG plans and programs, the last of which is addressing the armed group. The NTF-Elcac believes that subduing the armed wing, the NPA, has been the easiest since the recruitment and funding have not been sufficiently addressed in past administrations, so the problem has dragged on. In fact, these same recruiters in the form of legal front organizations have now grown into huge political parties eligible for the party-list system.

CPP propaganda machinery

A basic tenet of the CPP strategy is its arouse-organize-methodology (AOM) which has perpetuated the recruitment of the youth sector into the armed component. This was orchestrated by the CPP through a huge, complex and systematic machinery that generates all these lies and propaganda, not only for its domestic audience, but to the international community as well. This has enabled the CPP to seek support from international organizations, the United Nations, the European Union and worse, many of the foreign funding agencies that have channeled billions to the underground. It has destroyed the image of the country, and all administrations as they have been labeled tyrant governments. This CPP propaganda has never been addressed sufficiently in the past. In fact, the government simply retreated, allowing the CPPs network to dominate the media, both mainstream and later the social media platforms. It reached that point where even the politicians, especially the legislators, were hesitant to make adverse comments about the CPP-NPA-NDF, much less criticize them for what they truly are — terrorists. That attitude will no longer be tolerated, and the job of fighting this communist propaganda was given to the Stratcom cluster.

The Armed Forces’ role in the creation of this super body was a key one, as it holds most of the information and knowledge on the ins and outs of the underground. The objective is to expose their modus operandi in recruiting members for their legitimate (front) activities and linking them to the armed struggle with the NPA. For its trailblazing effort, Sratcom spokespersons have been accused of “red-tagging” by these radicals, which eventually paved the way for a series of Senate committee hearings on the controversy.

Senate hearings

The CPP-NPA-NDF, together with their Makabayan bloc, is probably still in disarray and in a state of shock at what hit them during the Senate committee hearings called for by Sen. Panfilo Lacson. The revelations of former top cadres of the CPP presented to the committee provided significant information on the CPP organization. It also placed on the spot members of the Makabayan bloc who are notable in their response to various issues, including the unabated killings being orchestrated by the CPP. Bayan officials found themselves cornered and forced to declare the CPP-NPA as their friends.

Despite the damning revelations, the Makabayan bloc persisted in asking for evidence on their participation in the armed struggle, disregarding the fact that they had been incriminated directly by former rebel leaders. It only confirmed our assertion on how effective the CPP’s revolutionary dual tactics have been to the point that these Makabayan members, caught with their hands in the cookie jar, could lie through their teeth and deny their complicity in armed rebellion.

Fall of CPP leadership

True to our objective of ending local communist armed conflict, the Pleds and LCC clusters embarked on a series of arrests of top CPP officials. Julius Giron, Ka Nars, CPP chairman and head of the NPA, was killed in Baguio City on March 13, 2020 after he resisted arrest. Giron took over from Benito Tiamzon who was captured in March 2014 but was released in 2017 to participate in the bungled peace talks. The Tiamzon couple is believed to have been meted with disciplinary action after being accused of absconding with party funds, mainly from donations from NGOs and foreign funding agencies.

Shortly after the death of Giron, his wife Annie Taule, who is also finance committee head, surrendered. This brought to light the CPP infiltration of the UN system by Tebtebba and the Cordillera People’s Army (CPA), through Annie’s sister, UN Special Rapporteur on the Indigenous Peoples Victoria Taule-Corpuz. Following Annie Taule’s surrender, CPP alternate chair Randolf Echanis was killed in an unusual stabbing incident in his safehouse/apartment. Next to fall were members of the tax implementing committee of the CPP, also known as the Rebolusyonaryong Buwis sa Kalaban na Uri (RBKU). These arrests will impact on the operational capability of the NPA units, and certainly the loss of much resources will result in the drawdown of CPP armed fighters.

Terrorist designation

With the passage of the Anti-Terrorism Law (ATL), the government has finally been given a much more sensible law that will help the state protect its citizens, as compared to the Human Security Act of 2007, which is deemed an anti-police law rather than an anti-terror law.

The ATL is proving to be one of the turning points in the campaign to end the communist insurgency. With the designation of the CPP-NPA as a terrorist organization, conspiring with this group makes one vulnerable and accountable to the law. While insurgency has almost become a household occurrence in the past, to the point that we now have six of their CPP colleagues in Congress, this time there is a law that explicitly defines one’s participation in a terrorist act. This time around, all those burning of equipment, wanton killings, kidnappings, rape and sexual abuse committed by the CPP-NPA will no longer be treated as political offenses in furtherance of their “democratic dictatorship.”

https://www.manilatimes.net/2021/01/15/opinion/columnists/ntf-elcac-the-black-swan-that-will-break-the-back-of-cpp/827805/