Jump to content

Communist Party of the Philippines

From Deep Politics Wiki


Full article adapted from Wikipedia revision 1372335453 by Wikipedia contributors. Text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Formatting has been adapted; article text and references are retained. Snapshot imported 2026-09-25.
Political party in the Philippines
For the original Communist Party of the Philippines founded in 1930, see Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas-1930.

<tbody> </tbody>
Communist Party of the Philippines
Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas
ChairmanVacant
FounderJose Maria Sison
... and others
  • Monico Atienza
  • Rey Casipe
  • Leoncio Co
  • Manuel Collantes
  • Arthur Garcia
  • Herminihildo Garcia
  • Ruben Guevara
  • Art Pangilinan
  • Nilo Tayag
  • Fernando Tayag
  • Ibarra Tubianosa
  • Jose Luneta (in absentia)
Founded26 December 1968 (1968-12-26)
Split fromPartido Komunista ng Pilipinas-1930
NewspaperAng Bayan
Armed wingNew People's Army
Youth wingKabataang Makabayan
Popular frontNational Democratic Front
IdeologyCommunism
Marxism–Leninism–Maoism
National democracy
Political positionFar-left
International affiliationICMLPO (formerly)
Colours Red
Anthem"Ang Internasyunal"
Party flag
Website
cpp.ph Edit this at Wikidata
<tbody> </tbody>
Part of a series on
Communist parties
Africa
Americas
Asia
Former parties
Europe
Former parties
Oceania
Former parties
International organizations
Related topics

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP; Filipino: Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas) is a far-left, Marxist–Leninist–Maoist revolutionary organization and communist party in the Philippines, formed by Jose Maria Sison on 26 December 1968 following a split in the original Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas.

The CPP has been fighting a protracted people's war against the state since its establishment. Its goal is to carry out a national democratic revolution and establish a people's democracy guided by a communist vanguard party. The CPP's application of Marxism-Leninism to the particularities of the Philippines is captured in its ideology of National Democracy.

Although its ranks initially numbered around 500, the party grew quickly, supposedly due to the declaration and imposition of martial law by former president and dictator Ferdinand Marcos during his 21-year rule. By the end of Marcos' rule of the country, the number of combatants had expanded to include more than 10,000 fighters. In 2019, Sison claimed that the number of its members and supporters is growing, despite claims by the Philippine government that the organization is close to being destroyed.[1] The organization remains an underground operation, with its primary goals being to overthrow the Philippine government through armed revolution and remove U.S. influence over the Philippines. It consists of the National Democratic Front, a coalition of other revolutionary organizations in the Philippines with aligning goals; the Kabataang Makabayan, which serves as its youth wing; and the New People's Army, which serves as its armed wing.

The CPP claims to be the largest Marxist–Leninist–Maoist[2] formation in the world, with the organization claiming to have 150,000 members,[‡ 1][non-primary source needed] while other sources claim the membership to have peaked at 25,000 members in the late 1980s [3] with membership dwindling ever since.

It has been designated as a terrorist group by the United States Department of State[4][5], together with Sison and the New People's Army[6], since 2002. The European Union[7] renewed its terrorist designation on the organization in 2019,[8] though a 2009 ruling by the EU's second highest court delisted Sison as a "person supporting terrorism" and reversed a decision by member governments to freeze assets.[9] According to the US' Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook, the CPP and the NPA aims to destabilize the Philippines' economy and overthrow the national government.[10]

Philippine president and former student of Sison[11][12][‡ 2] Rodrigo Duterte declared the group a terrorist organization in 2017,[13][14] though the CPP-NPA has not yet been legally declared as a terrorist group by Philippine courts.[15]

History

Background (1930–1967)

The original Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas (PKP, later PKP-1930) was founded on November 7, 1930 and was born out of the local labour movement with its core consisting of former members of the Partido Obrero de Filipinas, an earlier Marxist party. Initially formed under the wings of the CPUSA, the PKP established the Hukbalahap in 1942 first as a guerilla group against the Japanese but later extended their goal into a rebellion against the Philippine government and formally integrated the force as their armed wing, the Army of National Liberation (Hukbong Mapagpalaya ng Bayan, HMB).[16]: 17–18 By the mid-1950s, after the decisive defeat of the HMB, the PKP abandoned the armed struggle and announced its plans to partake in elections. This was made impossible by the Anti-Subversion Act of 1957 outlawing the party and its front organisations. In the face of the anti-communist campaign the party effectively went into hiding, limiting contact between members and ceasing to recruit new ones.[16]: 18–19

It was during this time that a young Jose Maria Sison organized a Marxist study group called the Student Cultural Association of the University of the Philippines (SCAUP), counting in its rank many of the future revolutionary leaders of the CPP such as Satur Ocampo. Through connections to the Communist Party of Indonesia he was exposed to the writings of Mao Zedong which left a big impression. After working for a while in the PKP-led Lapiang Manggagawa Sison was appointed to the PKP's Executive Committee in January 1963. As head of the PKP's youth wing he founded and chairmaned Kabataang Makabayan in 1964. Kabataang Makabayan would function as the primary source of new recruits for the PKP, but, aligning with Sison, they demanded the party to take a more active stance against U.S. imperialism, the Philippine government and landlords who controlled the means of rural production.[16]: 20–22

First Great Rectification

Main article: First Great Rectification Movement

In December 1965 Sison submitted a report constituting a critical review of the PKP's entire history to be debated in Congress. This report which would later be given the title of "Rectify Errors and Rebuild the Party" (RERP) identified key problems with the PKP under the leadership of the Lava brothers (Vicente, José and Jesus) which spanned from 1942 to 1964. It critiziced the party for being "city-based" and opting for "bourgeois parliamentary struggle" after World War II. Intended as a piece of criticism and self-criticism calling for a "thorough rectification campaign", RERP was shelved by party leadership and Sison was expelled from the PKP in April 1967.[16]: 24–26

Reestablishment (1968–1969)

<tbody> </tbody>
Part of a series on
Maoism
Concepts
Variants
People
Mao Zedong
Theoretical works
History
Organizations
Related topics

While the PKP Central Committee declared his expulsion, Sison and his followers insisted on the opposite and on December 26, 1968 "re-established" the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) on the foundations of Mao Zedong Thought and on the occasion of Mao Zedong's 75th birthday.[16]: 26 The "Congress of Reestablishment" was held in a barrio in Alaminos, Pangasinan near the home of relatives of Arthur Garcia, one of the founders of the CPP. Sison later claimed that he and Garcia were joined by nine other delegates attending the congress and two lookouts from a Manila trade union.[17] Among the attendees of the Congress of Reestablishment were Monico Atienza, Rey Casipe, Leoncio Co, Manuel Collantes, Herminihildo Garcia, Ruben Guevara, Art Pangilinan, Nilo Tayag and Fernando Tayag. Jose Luneta who was in China on party business was elected into the Central Committee in absentia.[18] One of the lookouts was identied by Sison as Mariano "Ka Duma" Lacsa who would go on to become a local leader in the CPP's Northern Luzon Central Committee.[17]

In 1969, Bernabe Buscayno, one of the very few active HMB guerilla leaders left in the 1960s joined Sison,[16]: 19 and on March 29, 1969 they established the New People's Army (NPA) as the armed wing of the CPP with the goal of overthrowing the government.[‡ 3][19] The founding of a people's army trained in guerilla warfare was central to the Maoist military strategy of the protracted people's war which the CPP included in its 1968 Program for a People's Democratic Revolution as the central means to overthrow the government. Buscayno has previously broken with both the PKP and Commander Sumulong who oversaw the transformation of most of the Central Luzon HMB forces from a revolutionary army to a lucrative crime syndicate.[20]

Later reports would situate the reestablishment of the communists amid a peak in civil unrest in the late 1960s due to escalating poverty across the country and the rising unpopularity of the Vietnam War.[19] Rising tensions especially accompanied the election and first term of President Ferdinand Marcos who funded and made use of organized crime forces,[20] and sent troops aiding the USA and South Vietnam into the war.[21]: 50–52

While some scholars cite the Sino-Soviet split as a central reason for the ideological split in the PKP, others such as Francisco Nemenzo, a former member of the PKP-1930, refused this explanation:

The schism was not a local expression of the international dispute between the Soviet and Chinese parties but the offshoot of a generational rift between the remnants of an aborted rebellion and the new elements who were spared the trauma of defeat.

— Francisco Nemenzo, "An Irrepressible Revolution: The Decline and Resurgence of the Philippine Movement", Unpublished (1984)[21]: 48

Second Great Rectification Movement (1992–1998)

Main article: Second Great Rectification Movement

In the 10th plenum of the CPP, the party engaged in a "second rectification movement" that reviewed and corrected the errors that created havoc on the revolutionary movement for more than a decade since its founding in 1968.

Armando Liwanag, chairman of CPP, issued a document called "Reaffirm Our Basic Principles and Carry the Revolution Forward" that repudiated the deviations of leading party cadres in the country that resulted in the gravest setbacks and destruction to the Party and the revolutionary movement, first in one major island and subsequently on a nationwide scale.

The document states that these erroneous policies "have caused setbacks through a process of self-constriction and have inflicted unprecedentedly heavy losses in the strength of the Party and the people's army and gross reductions of mass base".[22][23]

The criticism and debates that ensued between the leading party cadres resulted in the expulsion of advocates of "left and right opportunism", notably forming the so-called "rejectionists" and "reaffirmist" factions.

The rejectionists took the lines of "strategic counteroffensive", "regularization", and combining military adventurism with insurrectionism from 1980 onward that overlapped with the reaffirmists who uphold the "correct" revolutionary method of people's war.

The rectification movement was aimed to defeat the "wrong line" in a comprehensive and thoroughgoing manner and strengthen the party ideologically, politically and organizationally. Thus, the rectification movement came into force in 1992, especially after the Plenum of the Central Committee approved the rectification documents.

Splits and divisions

Not all CPP cadres abided by the "Reaffirm" document penned by Liwanag. Those who affirmed the Maoist orthodoxy were called the "Reaffirmists", or RA, while those who rejected the document were called "Rejectionists" or RJ.[24]

In July 1993, the Komiteng Rehiyon ng Manila-Rizal (KRMR), one of the Rejectionists, declared its autonomy from the central leadership:

From this day on, we sever our ties with the illegal and absolutist circle that passes itself off as the 'Central Committee' of the CPP ... It is a principled declaration of independence ... not a secession from the entire Party organization.

— CPP Manila-Rizal

Within a few months, several of the Party's regional formations and bureaus followed suit: Central Mindanao, Western Mindanao, Negros and Central Visayas, the Visayas Commission (VisCom) staff and New People's Army units under its control, the National Peasant Secretariat, the United Front Commission and the Home Bureau and Western Europe committee.

The KRMR, VisCom and the Central and Western Mindanao regional committees later merged to form the Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawa – Pilipinas (RPM-P) in 1998. However, the Mindanao-based cadres later left the RPM-P after a debate regarding the RPM-P's signing of a peace pact with the government then led by Joseph Estrada. Those cadres then formed the Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawa – Mindanao (RPM-M) which joined the Fourth International in 2003.

The KRMR faction led by Filemon Lagman was earlier expelled from the RPM-P due to his "liquidationist" attitude and refusal to help in Party preparations and functions. He then formed the Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP),[25] however his closest associates, led by Sonny Melencio, bolted to form the legal political party Sosyalistang Partido ng Paggawa (SPP) in 1998.

The United Front Commission cadres formed the Partido Proletaryo Demokratiko (PPD) which then merged with Lagman's BMP and Melencio's SPP to give rise to the Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino-Pinagsanib (BMP-Pinagsanib). But in 2007 another reported split occurred due to the rift between Lagman and Melencio supporters.

In 1997 several cadres from the Central Luzon committee were accused of sowing factionalism and "civilianization" of the NPA units. These cadres earlier supported the "Reaffirm" document by CPP Chairman Armando Liwanag and tried appealing for the chairman's support. This did not materialize though, and the cadres formed the Marxist–Leninist Party of the Philippines (MLPP) and organized the armed wing Rebolusyonaryong Hukbo ng Bayan (RHB). The MLPP-RHB maintains the national-democratic framework of social analysis by the CPP, although slightly modified. They also maintain the strategy of people's war, but are more akin to Vietnamese and Nepalese revolutionary strategies.

From October 24 to November 2, 2016, the CPP held its second ever congress, electing a new Central Committee and Political Bureau, as well as amending its 48 year-old constitution and setting the official Filipino lyrics of the CPP's anthem, The Internationale. In the official announcement the following year they claim that delegates represting "the Party’s close to seventy thousand members" were present.[18]

Marcos Jr. administration (2022–present)

In 2023 peace talks were resumed between the Philippine government and the NDFP, resulting in a new mass amnesty program for former rebels. As of March 2026, over 14,000 former members of the CPP-NPA-NDF applied for amnesty.[26]

Third Rectification Movement

On December 26, 2023, the CPP launched the Third Rectification Movement,[27] consisting of "study campaigns" of the writings of Sison and other Marxist-Leninist-Maoist literature.[‡ 4] The errors sought to be corrected were identified by the CPP and NPA as "military conservatism" and the resulting lack of tactical offensives against the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).[28]

Continuing conflicts and losses

In his 2025 State of the Nation Address, Bongbong Marcos claimed that there were "no more guerilla groups in the country," echoing earlier claims of success from the AFP after focused military operations, the targeting of leaders, and the constriction of lines of support,[29] although media groups such as Vera Files point out that a high number of encounters, which saw 146 alleged NPA killed between January to November 2024, was an indication of the continued existence of the organization.[29] With peace talks stalling, and both the AFP and NPA continuing course, conflicts still persist, although reports on losses remain widely conflicting on both sides. A truce declared by the NPA on the occasion of the holidays (Christmas and New Year's Eve) in late 2025 was not reciprocated by the Department of National Defense (DND) or the AFP.[30] Violent clashes[31] and arrests of suspected communists[32] continued throughout 2026.

On April 19, 2026, the Northern Negros Front of the New People's Army (NPA NNF) engaged in an armed confrontation with the 79th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army resulting in ten deaths among the NPA and nine dead civilians.[33] Dubbed the Toboso encounter, the clash has been decried as a massacre committed by the army and renewed calls for peace negotiations.[34]

Ideology

The Communist Party of the Philippines, which promotes Marxism–Leninism–Maoism (MLM), is a revolutionary proletarian party that looks upon the legacies of past Philippine rebellions and revolutions from the perspective of the theories of Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, and Mao Zedong. It assists the progress of theory and practice in the world proletarian revolution that is guided by Marxism–Leninism–Maoism (Preamble, Constitution of the Communist Party of the Philippines, 1968).[35]

So long as it resolutely, militantly and thoroughly carries out its ideological, political and organizational building, the Communist Party of the Philippines is certain to lead the broad masses of the Filipino people of various nationalities and ethno-linguistic communities to total victory in the national democratic revolution against US imperialism and the local reactionaries; and bring about the start of the socialist revolution.

— Armando Liwanag, Chairman, Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Philippines

Analysis regarding Philippine society

The CPP adheres to Marxism-Leninism-Maoism as its guiding ideology in analyzing and summing up the experience of the party and its creative application to the concrete conditions in the Philippines in fighting US imperialism, feudalism and bureaucrat capitalism. It considers Maoism as the highest development of Marxism-Leninism.[36]

The analysis of Philippine society is largely based on the writings of Sison, most notably Philippine Society and Revolution (1971). The CPP considers Philippine society as semicolonial and semifeudal, the character of the present revolution as national democratic of the new type (led by the proletariat).[37]: 3 According to Sison in the late 1960s, the national bourgeosie was too small and powerless a faction in the Philippines to lead their own national democratic revolution, calling for a united front with the workers.[16]: 23

The CPP-NPA regards three things as central to waging revolution: armed struggle, agrarian revolution, and the building of mass-bases in the countryside.[‡ 5]: 120

Ideologies regarding armed struggle

The CPP regards armed struggle as a necessary component of revolution coinciding with the Party's organizational work. The NPA, as the central agent of armed struggle, serves to achieve its central task of "destroying and dismantling the rule of the enemy and taking their political power". In waging armed revolution, the NPA follows the strategic line of protracted people's war by "encircling the cities from the countryside until conditions are ripe for seizing the cities through a strategic offensive".[38]

The NPA identifies three stages in waging armed struggle: strategic defensive, strategic stalemate, and strategic offensive.[‡ 5]: 120–1 It regards itself as yet unable to conduct symmetric warfare in the urban centers and thus regards the people's war as being in a stage of strategic defensive moving to a stage of strategic stalemate. During the stage of strategic defensive, the NPA "maintains the initiative in tactical offensives against the strategic military advantage of the enemy", making use of guerrilla tactics to attack targets and defend guerrilla zones, while armed partisans perform special roles in the cities.[‡ 5]: 121 The second stage is strategic stalemate, where fighting force is more or less equal, while the last stage is that of strategic offensive, where the NPA has developed its strength capable of assaulting military camps and cities.

Five-year plan

In 2022, the CPP leadership, in its 53rd-anniversary statement, boldly called for an advance in the revolutionary struggle and touted its forces to advance in the people's war for a new democracy. It declared its determination to strive within the next five years to make the great advance from the stage of strategic defense to the strategic stalemate, fulfilling all the requirements and without skipping any necessary phase.

It also predicted that a revolutionary government would not win the revolution by toppling the current Philippine government.[39]

The strategic stalemate means that the revolutionary armed forces shall have achieved parity in the revolutionary war against the armed forces of the reactionary government. The strategic stalemate paves the way for the next stage in the protracted people's war, namely the strategic offensive, which pushes towards the nationwide victory in the struggle for national and social liberation.

— Armando Liwanag, Chairman, Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Philippines

Referring to Maoist military doctrine, the CPP-lead NPA adheres to the three progressive phases of protracted warfare—strategic defensive, strategic stalemate, and strategic offensive.

According to the CPP's calculations in the statement, they considered the present revolution to be at an advance sub-stage of strategic defensive.

Anti-Subversion Act of 1957

At the time of its inception, the Government of the Philippines automatically outlawed the CPP through the Anti-Subversion Act of 1957 (Republic Act No. 1700) which had previously branded the Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas-1930 (PKP) and the Hukbalahap as an "organized conspiracy" upon its passage on 20 June 1957.

As splinter groups which had roots to the PKP, the ban extended to the CPP-NPA.[40]

Repeal of the Anti-Subversion Act of 1957

The Anti-Subversion Act of 1957 was repealed by President Fidel Ramos in October 1992, decriminalizing membership in the CPP and NPA.[41][42]

2017 Designation as a terrorist organization

In December 2017, President Rodrigo Duterte issued a proclamation declaring the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing, the New People's Army (NPA), as terrorist organizations. The proclamation was made on the basis of the Human Security Act and the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act, Republic Act No.10168.[13][14] However, the CPP-NPA has not yet been legally declared as a terrorist group by Philippine courts.[15]

The United States[4] and the European Union[7] have designated the CPP–NPA as "foreign terrorist organizations" in 2002 and 2005, respectively.

Declarations of persona non grata against the CPP-NPA-NDF (2020)

On 11 December 2020, the Department of the Interior and Local Government said that 1,546 or 90.1% of the total 1,715 Local Government Units (LGUs) nationwide have declared the CPP-NPA-NDF persona non grata. Of these 1,546 LGUs, 64 are provinces, 110 are cities, 1,372 are municipalities, with the remaining 169 LGUs in various stages of deliberation in their respective provincial, city, and municipal councils. Some 12,474 barangays nationwide have also declared the CPP-NPA-NDF unwelcome in their territories. Six of the 17 regions in the country have reached a 100 percent declaration of persona non grata to the CPP-NPA-NDF, which are Central Luzon, Central Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Mimaropa, and Cordillera Administrative Region.[43][44]

The CPP-NPA responded by claiming that the declarations don't represent the will of the Filipino people, and accused the DILG and AFP of threatening the LGUs and local leaders with arrest and not giving their governments the funds they needed.[45][46]

Peace process

Main article: Government of the Republic of the Philippines - National Democratic Front peace negotiations
<tbody> </tbody>
This article is part of a series on the
Politics of the
Philippines
The coat of arms of the Philippines, bearing blue on the right, red on the left, and white and yellow stars on the top.
Government
Executive
Legislature
Judiciary
Constitutional commissions
Elections
Political parties
Administrative divisions
Related topics
flag Philippines portal

During the Corazon Aquino presidency

Following the People Power Revolution that ousted Ferdinand Marcos and allowed Corazon Aquino to assume the presidency, the Philippine government granted amnesty to political prisoners, including top CPP figures like Sison and Buscayno. In March 1986, the National Democratic Front of the Philippines announced its willingness to engage the Philippine government in a dialogue for a ceasefire between the AFP and the NPA. Preliminary talks between the Philippine government and the CPP began in August 1986, culminating in a two-month ceasefire agreement signed on November 27, 1986.[47]

Despite preliminary talks, the Philippine government and the NDFP could not agree on the framework of the negotiations, with the NDFP asserting its belligerent status while the Philippine government demanded that the NDFP submit to the Philippine constitution.[‡ 6] Negotiations finally broke down following the Mendiola massacre on January 22, 1987, which killed 13 protestors and injuring hundreds, with the NDFP pulling out of peace negotiations.[48]

Attempts to resume peace talks began in 1990 when Representative Jose Yap met with Luis Jalandoni in the Netherlands to resume bilateral talks between the government and the NDFP. The Aquino presidency would however end with no substantive negotiations.[49]

2007 Arroyo amnesty proclamation

On 5 September 2007, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo signed Amnesty Proclamation 1377 for members of the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the New People's Army (NPA); other communist rebel groups; and their umbrella organization, the National Democratic Front. The amnesty will cover the crime of rebellion and all other crimes "in pursuit of political beliefs," but not including crimes against chastity, rape, torture, kidnapping for ransom, use and trafficking of illegal drugs and other crimes for personal ends and violations of international law or convention and protocols "even if alleged to have been committed in pursuit of political beliefs." The National Committee on Social Integration (NCSI) will issue a Certificate of Amnesty to qualified applicants. Implementing rules and regulations are being drafted and the decree will be submitted to the Senate of the Philippines and the House of Representatives of the Philippines for their concurrence. The proclamation becomes effective only after Congress has concurred.[50]

During the Benigno Aquino III administration

The peace talks between the two sides have been intermittent and inconclusive since 1986, bogging down in 2012 when the government refused to free political prisoners.

During the Duterte administration

Peace talks resumed in August 2016, when Duterte released 19 rebel leaders from jail. However, President Duterte scrapped talks in February 2017, when rebels ambushed an army convoy, breaking a unilateral ceasefire that had held for five months. Both sides returned to the negotiating table on April 1, 2017.

In April 2017, peace talks between the National Democratic Front and the Philippine government brokered by Norway took place in the Netherlands, hoping to reach a political settlement in twelve months to end the conflict. This was the second time the two sides agreed on a bilateral truce since November 1986.[51]

In 2019, the Duterte administration unilaterally declared the end of peace talks between the GRP and the NDFP, focusing instead on their counter-insurgency program Oplan Kapanatagan and what it terms as a "whole-of-nation" approach.[52][53]

During the Marcos Jr. administration (2022–present)

After meeting informally for a year in the Netherlands and Norway, the Philippine government under Bongbong Marcos and the NDFP reached a consensus to resume peace talks on November 23, 2023.[54] During the initial talks Marcos granted amnesty to former rebels of the CPP, including the Alex Boncayao Brigade, as well as the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and Moro National Liberation Front.[55] As of March 2026, over 14,000 former members of the CPP-NPA-NDF and Alex Boncayao Brigade applied for amnesty.[56] A speaker of the NTF-Elcac has called the high turnout "a quiet but decisive victory for peace".[57] Meanwhile violent clashes between the government and the NPA continued, demanding victims on both sides.[30]

In 2026, in the wake of the Toboso clash, both Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro and National Security Adviser Eduardo Oban have publicly voiced their rejection of any peace talks with the CPP-NPA-NDF, while still supporting the amnesty program. Oban called the peace talks a "lifeline for a dying insurgency".[58] The NDFP meanwhile has restated amnesty for jailed consultants, the dissolution of NTF-Elcac and the addressing of the root causes of the armed conflict as conditions for the negotiations going forward.[34] Shortly after, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) has restated the government's whish to finalize peace talks before the end of President Marcos Jr.'s term in 2028. As of July 2026 no continuation of the peace talks has manifested.[59]

International relations

The People's Republic of China's (PRC) relations with the CPP have supposedly "been severed since the 1980s," although Chinese underground support systems to the rebellion have surfaced from time to time. The main line of Chinese supporters have officially cut ties with the party since 2000 as the economic use of the party to the Chinese were no longer needed as the party's members have been reduced significantly.[60]

The Soviet Union (USSR) provided political and financial assistance to the CPP from 1974 with military assistance made by 1986.[61] Back in 1969, the USSR refused to help the CPP due to a lack of nationwide cells that can be utilized to mobilize its members.[61] When Rodolfo Salas was apprehended in September 1986, he stated that the USSR and Vietnam agreed to provide the CPP with military assistance since the NPA needed more than 25,000 weapons in order to come to power in the Philippines.[61]

According to Stefan Engel, the main coordinator of International Coordination of Revolutionary Parties and Organizations (ICOR), as of 2015, the CPP is willing to join ICOR.[62]

Publications

Ang Bayan (The People) is the official news publication of the Communist Party of the Philippines. The first issue was published in May 1969 and the paper has been published periodically ever since. Starting September 2000, Ang Bayan has regularly released new issues on a bimonthly basis, every 7th and 21st of the month.[63] Since the 2000s it is being published in Filipino, with English, Waray, Hiligaynon, Bisaya, and Ilocano translations available.[64]

The CPP also publishes Rebolusyon (Revolution), the theoretical and political journal of its Central Committee. The maiden issue of Rebolusyon came out in 1977. Its publication has been largely irregular and sporadic, with most issues coming out in the 1990s in the context of the ideological debates around the party's split between the reaffirmist and rejectionist factions. Most issues of Rebolusyon from this period are available online at the Marxist Internet Archive.[65]

Territorial bodies of the CPP have been publishing regional papers written in local languages. Some of these regional publications include: Baringkuas (Uprising), the revolutionary newspaper of the people of Cagayan Valley; Kalatas (Message), the official newspaper of the revolutionary people of Southern Tagalog; Daba-daba (Flame), the revolutionary mass paper in Panay; Dangadang (Struggle), the revolutionary newspaper of the people of North-west Luzon; Himagsik (Revolt), the revolutionary newspaper of the people of Central Luzon; Larab (Flame), the revolutionary mass paper in Eastern Visayas; Lingkawas (Liberation), the publication of the CPP in Northeastern Mindanao; Paghimakas (Struggle), the newspaper of the CPP in Negros; Pakigbisog (Struggle), the publication of the revolutionary people of Central Visayas; and Silyab (Spark), published by the CPP-NPA in Bicol.[citation needed]

CPP-allied underground mass organizations (UGMOs) likewise distribute their own publications. The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) continues to publish Liberation. It also published the now defunct Balita ng Malayang Pilipinas (BMP, News of a Free Philippines) and Taliba ng Bayan (People's Vanguard). Both the BMP and Taliba ng Bayan began publication in 1973 but have ceased operation by the late 1980s based on the extant copies available at the Philippine Radical Archives of the University of the Philippines Diliman Library.[66] The youth UGMO Kabataang Makabayan (KM) official newspaper is Kalayaan (Freedom). The cultural UGMO Artista at Manunulat ng Sambayanan (ARMAS) literary and cultural journal is Ulos. The women's UGMO Malayang Kilusan ng Bagong Kababaihan (MAKIBAKA) newspaper is the Balita ng Malayang Pilipinas.[67]

See also

References

Secondary sources

  1. ^ "Joma claims CPP-NDF growing stronger". The Philippine Star. Archived from the original on 9 May 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  2. ^ the Philippines, Communist Party of (2016). Constitution and Program of the Communist Party of the Philippines.
  3. ^ JODESZ GAVILAN (20 December 2022). "FAST FACTS: Things to know about the Communist Party of the Philippines". Rappler.com. Archived from the original on 20 September 2023. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Foreign Terrorist Organizations". U.S. Department of State. Archived from the original on 15 May 2019. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  5. ^ Refugees, United Nations High Commissioner for. "Refworld | Country Reports on Terrorism 2017 – Foreign Terrorist Organizations: Communist Party of the Philippines/New People's Army". Refworld. Archived from the original on 28 July 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  6. ^ "Executive Order 13224 Terrorist Designations Under Amended Executive Order To Modernize Sanctions To Combat Terrorism". U.S. Department of State. Bureau of Counterterrorism. 23 September 2001. Archived from the original on 15 May 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  7. ^ a b "Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1128". EUR-Lex. 30 July 2020. Archived from the original on 17 September 2020. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  8. ^ "The Council of the European Union on updating the list of persons, groups and entities subject to Articles 2, 3 and 4 of Common Position 2001/931/CFSP on the application of specific measures to combat terrorism, and repealing Decision (CFSP) 2019/25". Office Journal of the European Union. 8 August 2019. Archived from the original on 18 December 2020. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  9. ^ "IHT, EU court overturns decision to freeze assets of exiled Philippine rebel, Palestinian group". Archived from the original on 10 February 2009. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  10. ^ "East Asia/Southeast Asia :: Philippines — The World Factbook – Central Intelligence Agency". CIA. Archived from the original on 20 August 2021. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  11. ^ Sabillo, Kristine Angeli. "Joma Sison talks about former student Duterte, other candidates". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on 29 July 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  12. ^ Mallari, Delfin T. Jr. "Joma Sison wishes 'best of health' for ex-student Duterte". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on 29 July 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  13. ^ a b Ballaran, Jhoanna (5 December 2017). "Duterte declares CPP, NPA as terrorist organizations". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on 6 December 2017. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  14. ^ a b "Proclamation No. 374, s. 2017" (PDF). Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. 5 December 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 December 2017. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  15. ^ a b Pulta, Benjamin (22 September 2022). "Manila court denies 2018 petition to declare CPP-NPA terror group". Philippine News Agency. Archived from the original on 18 December 2022. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g Wheely, Kathleen (2001). The Communist Party of the Philippines 1968-1993: A Story of Its Theory and Practice. University of the Philippines Press. ISBN 9715423051.
  17. ^ a b Cardinoza, Gabriel (26 December 2007). "Joma Sison recalls birth of CPP in Alaminos". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on 26 December 2014. Retrieved 20 August 2026.
  18. ^ a b Villanueva, Raymund (29 March 2017). "CPP holds 2nd congress; elects 'younger' Central Committee". Kodao Productions. Retrieved 27 August 2026.
  19. ^ a b Sadian, John Carlo Gil (2–8 April 2012). "The Long Struggle to Silence the Guns". The CenSEI Report. 2 (13): 4–10.
  20. ^ a b Scalice, Joseph (5 March 2022). "How Ferdinand Marcos 1965 election campaign turned Central Luzon into a war zone". Rappler. Retrieved 27 August 2026.
  21. ^ a b Scalice, Jospeh (2021). "The geopolitical alignments of diverging social interests: the Sino-Soviet split and the Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas, 1966–1967". Critical Asian Studies. 53 (1). Routledge: 45–70. doi:10.1080/14672715.2020.1870867.
  22. ^ "Reaffirm Our Basic Principles and Carry the Revolution Forward". Twenty-Third Anniversary of the Communist Party of the Philippines. Archived from the original on 14 April 2010.
  23. ^ Liwanag, Armando (26 December 1991). "Reaffirm Our Basic Principles and Carry the Revolution Forward" (PDF). Banned Thought. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 June 2021. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  24. ^ Pabico, Alecks P. (31 August 2007). "The Great Left Divide". GMA News. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  25. ^ Bagares, Romel (7 February 2001). "'Popoy' slain in UP ambush". The Philippine Star. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
  26. ^ Sarmiento, Bong S. (27 March 2026). "Ex-communist rebels top amnesty seekers". Inquirer. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
  27. ^ Nepomuceno, Priam (21 May 2025). "Reds aware of dwindling forces – NTF-ELCAC". Philippine News Agency. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
  28. ^ Villanueva, Raymond B. (29 March 2024). "Red fighters welcome 3rd rectification movement, CPP reports on NPA's 55th anniversary". Kodao Productions. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
  29. ^ a b Reyes, Miguel Paulo (17 August 2025). "Wala nang grupong gerilya sa bansa?" [No more guerrilla groups in the country?]. Vera Files.
  30. ^ a b Sadongdong, Martin (27 December 2025). "Año warns Communist violence persists despite ceasefire claims by CPP". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
  31. ^ Mallari Jr., Delfin T. (30 March 2026). "Army officer killed, 2 soldiers hurt, NPA rebel caught in Mindoro clash". Inquirer. Retrieved 25 July 2026.
  32. ^ Marzan, Joey; Cordero, Ian Paul (2 April 2026). "2 activists tagged as communist rebels arrested in Iloilo town". Inquirer. Retrieved 25 July 2026.
  33. ^ Gomez, Carla (27 April 2026). "CPP releases names of casualties in 'Toboso 19,' including 9 civilians". Inquirer.net. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
  34. ^ a b Villanueva, Raymond B. (4 May 2026). "NDFP reveals sole issue remaining before formal peace talks resume". Kodao Productions. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
  35. ^ "Saligang Batas ng Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas" (in Filipino). Archived from the original on 7 January 2009. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  36. ^ "philippinerevolution.net". ww1.philippinerevolution.net. Archived from the original on 26 September 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  37. ^ Rojas, Virgilio (September 1992). "The Mode of Production Controversy in the Philippines: Anatomy of a Lingering Theoretical Stalemate". Debate: Philippine Left Review (4): 3–43.
  38. ^ Guerrero, Amado (1 December 1974). Specific Characteristics of Our People's War.
  39. ^ http://www.ndfp.net/liberation_intl/zzLI_103103/LI_31mar2010b.pdf[permanent dead link]
  40. ^ "Anti-Subversion Act". Chan Robles Virtual Law Library. 20 June 1957. Archived from the original on 15 April 2024. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
  41. ^ "Ramos legalises Communist Party, frees 48 rebels". New Straits Times. Reuter. 23 September 1992. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
  42. ^ "An Act Repealing Republic Act Numbered One Thousand Seven Hundred, as Amended, Otherwise Known as the Anti-Subversion Act". 22 September 1992. Archived from the original on 7 August 2024. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
  43. ^ Arcilla, Gigie (28 January 2021). "CPP-NPA-NDF not welcome in Mandaluyong City, 1,545 LGUs". Philippine News Agency. Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  44. ^ Hallare, Katrina (11 December 2020). "CPP-NPA-NDF members declared persona non grata in 1,546 LGUS — DILG". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on 12 December 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  45. ^ Valbuena, Marco (11 December 2020). "Reaksyon sa ipinagmamalaki ng DILG na 1,546 LGUs na nagdeklarang persona non grata ang CPP-NPA". Philippine Revolution Web Central. Archived from the original on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  46. ^ Manuel, Karlos (22 July 2019). "Duterte, AFP forcing LGUs to declare CPP-NPA 'persona non grata' –NPA-EV". Philippine Revolution Web Central. Archived from the original on 2 February 2021. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  47. ^ Doyo, Ma Ceres P. (23 December 2022). "Flashback: Ceasefire 1986". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
  48. ^ Bolasco, Maria Karina Africa (30 September 2019). "The GRP-NDFP Peace Talks: Tactical Discontinuities in a Shared Narrative". Kyoto Review of Southeast Asia. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
  49. ^ Process, Office of Presidential Adviser on the Peace (8 November 2016). "A Brief History of OPAPP and the Peace Process". PeaceGovPH. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
  50. ^ "(Update) Arroyo signs amnesty proclamation for communists". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on 26 December 2014. Retrieved 30 September 2013.
  51. ^ Villamor, Felipe (5 April 2017). "Philippines and Communist Rebels Agree to a Temporary Cease-Fire". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  52. ^ Roque, EJ (21 March 2019). "Duterte permanently ends peace talks with Reds". Philippine News Agency. Archived from the original on 22 March 2019. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  53. ^ Ranada, Pia. "Duterte signs proclamation labeling CPP-NPA as terrorist group". Rappler. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  54. ^ Manahan, Job (28 November 2023). "Gov't, communist rebels agree to resume peace talks". ABS-CBN. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
  55. ^ Manahan, Job (24 November 2023). "Marcos grants amnesty to former rebels 'to foster lasting peace'". ABS-CBN. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
  56. ^ Sarmiento, Bong S. (27 March 2026). "Ex-communist rebels top amnesty seekers". Inquirer. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
  57. ^ Nepomuceno, Priam (19 March 2026). "NTF-Elcac: Large turnout of amnesty applicants a 'quiet victory'". Inquirer. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
  58. ^ Nepomuceno, Priam (5 May 2026). "Peace talks with Reds not in Filipinos' interest – Oban". Philippine News Agency. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
  59. ^ Limos, Allen (1 August 2026). "'Govt open to dialogue with CPP-NPA'". The Manila Times. Retrieved 16 August 2026.
  60. ^ Jerry E. Esplanada. "Chinese communist party says it has disowned local rebels". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on 5 January 2018. Retrieved 30 September 2014. have been severed since the 1980s.
  61. ^ a b c Rosenberger, Leif R. (1987). "Philippines: Soviet Support for the New People's Army". Naval War College Review. 40 (4): 96–99. JSTOR 44637693.
  62. ^ Stefan Engel Interview mit Komala TV – Thema ICOR Archived 28 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine YouTube video (German; ICOR membership is being mentioned at about 22:50).
  63. ^ Mongaya, Karlo Mikhail (June 2024). "Letters from the Underground: Ang Bayan and the Construction of a Counterhegemonic Subjectivity during the Anti-dictatorship Struggle". UNITAS. 97 (1): 175. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
  64. ^ Tangi, Lucia (2015). "People's War, People's Press: History and Evolution of Ang Bayan(The People), the News Organ of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP)". Plaridel. 12 (1): 67. doi:10.52518/2015.12.1-04tangi.
  65. ^ Rebolusyon. "Rebolusyon". Marxist Internet Archive. Marxist Internet Archive. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
  66. ^ Filipiniana Special Collections Project Staff (1998). Philippine Radical Papers in the University of the Philippines Diliman Main Library: A Subject Guide. Quezon City: University of the Philippines Press. ISBN 9789715422123.
  67. ^ Ambrosio, Dante (2014). "Ang Tradisyon Ng Pahayagang Radikal Sa Pilipinas". In Santos, Josefina; Tolentino, Rolando (eds.). Media at Lipunan. Quezon City: University of the Philippines Press. p. 332-333. ISBN 978-971-542-744-9.

Primary sources

  1. ^ Sison, Jose Ma. (1 January 2022). "The people will intensify the revolution as crisis of the ruling system will worsen". Archived from the original on 9 January 2022.
  2. ^ "Joma Sison on his former student Duterte". Josemariasison.org. 13 February 2016. Archived from the original on 29 July 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  3. ^ Meeting of Red Commanders and Fighters, under the Leadership the Central Committee and Military Commission of the Communist Party of the Philippines (29 March 1969). "Declaration of the New People's Army". Retrieved 20 August 2026.
  4. ^ "Rectify and advance!". NDFP.info. 30 December 2024. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
  5. ^ a b c Sison, José Maria (2013). "Basic Rules of the New People's Army". Foundation for resuming the Philippine revolution : selected writings, 1968 to 1972. International Network for Philippine Studies. ISBN 978-1-62847-920-1.
  6. ^ Sison, José María (2021). Selected readings from the works of Jose Maria Sison (PDF). Paris: Foreign languages press. ISBN 978-2-491182-54-0. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
Retrieved from "https://deeppolitics.org/index.php?title=Communist_Party_of_the_Philippines&oldid=86882"