FORMER Philippine National Police director general and now senator, Ronald ‘Bato’ dela Rosa, called on his Senate colleagues to support the proposed 2022 budget of the Department of National Defense (DND), citing the success of the administration’s anti-terrorism campaign that saw dramatic reductions in the terrorist bases of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) that now numbers to 43, or not even one percent of the country’s total number of villages.
As of March 2021, the Philippines already has 42,046 villages or barangays, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
As the country’s smallest political unit, villages, especially in the country’s remote areas, are the main targets of the CPP’s penetration and conversion to its “mass bases” thru intimidation, violence and deceptions.
At the height of the CPP’s influence and reach right after Pres. Ferdinand Marcos was illegally removed in 1986, it was estimated that some 25 percent of the country’s villages are under its control while boasting of more than 20,000 combatants in the ranks of the New People’s Army (NPA).
However, the current CPP bases, as reported by dela Rosa, is even smaller than the total number of barangays in Calamba City, Laguna, which has 54 barangays.
Sponsoring the approval of the DND’s requested budget of P297.1 billion for next year during budget deliberations on November 16, 2021, dela Rosa further noted that of the current number of CPP terrorist bases, 11 of them have been downgraded to “weakened,” with only between 10 to 20 fully armed NPA fighters.
The solon, vice chair of the Committee on National Defense, noted that the CPP ‘doctrine’ stipulated that NPA bases should have at least 100-fully armed combatants (three platoons) each to be classified as a ‘guerilla front.’
“At the start of the Duterte administration, there were 70 guerilla fronts but now we have only 43…but 11 of them are weakened,” Dela Rosa informed his colleagues, adding even the “political structures” of the CPP-NPA had also been “degraded” by the relentless campaign being initiated by the Armed Forces of the Philippines and other law enforcement units.
He also voiced support to the confident assessment of defense and security officials that the CPP-NPA would no longer be the main national security threat by the end of the Duterte administration in mid-2022, when a new administration has been elected into office.
“Yes, Mr. President. Ang problema na lang talaga natin ngayon kung tutuusin ay confined na lang tayo dito sa may Samar area kung saan ‘yung kanilang malalaking commanders, ‘yung Tiamzon couple, ay nandiyan pa, alive and kicking,” dela Rosa bared.
This year, dela Rosa said the defense establishment dismantled the highest number of CPP terrorist bases at 20, compared to an average of 3 to 5 bases in previous years.