For over 50 years, a communist insurgency has plagued the Philippines. But after decades of failed military campaigns, it has become clear that guns alone cannot win peace.
Previous administrations relied heavily on combat operations to counter rebel forces. However, neutralizing armed fighters alone does little to eliminate the roots of unrest. Without addressing these underlying factors, new recruits inevitably emerge to continue the cycle of violence.
Inequality and poverty in remote areas have served as recruitment fuel for groups like the New People’s Army (NPA). Harsh crackdowns further alienate marginalized communities.
Likewise, the lack of infrastructure and economic opportunities in conflict-prone regions also breed resentment that rebels capitalize on. When basic needs remain unmet, groups can easily fan grievances among the population.
Holistic approach
This is why a holistic whole-of-nation approach is proving more effective today. Instead of solely military means, it combines security efforts with grassroots governance, social services, infrastructure, livelihoods, and reintegration programs, among other strategies.
According to National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) executive director Ernesto C. Torres Jr., a retired Army general, the government has made unprecedented progress towards ending the decades-long communist insurgency in the country. Just two guerrilla fronts reportedly remain active nationwide.
“Let me inform the body that out of the original 89 guerrilla fronts nationwide back in 2018, [in] December 2018, when NTF-ELCAC was established, and before Executive Order [EO] 70. We since then have already dismantled 69 guerrilla fronts in just less than five years,” Torres said during Metro Manila’s first meeting with Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Secretary Suharto Teng Mangudadatu, who was designated as the Cabinet Officer for Regional Development and Security for Metro Manila.
Torres said 75 percent of NPA fronts have been dismantled under a strategy that aligns security, governance and development efforts.
“This is a very significant accomplishment because never in the history of our counterinsurgency campaign against the CTGs [communist terrorist groups] have we been able to dismantle such a number in such [a] short period of time. I can deeply remember when I was still in military service that there were times that we were not able to dismantle even a single guerrilla front in one year,” he added.
“Sometimes we have two, three, but in most cases in years we have not dismantled a guerrilla front in the security sector. But with the fall of the EO 70 and the institutionalization of the whole-of-government approach, we were able to accomplish the almost impossible,” he further said.
From 89 fronts originally, only two in Northern Samar are still deemed active based on recent military assessments. The remainder have been weakened through sustained operations.
“The solution to this decades-long problem cannot be solved by the security sector alone,” Torres pointed out.
Without addressing root causes, taking up arms will remain attractive to disgruntled youth despite battle setbacks. Only by providing development and inclusive governance can an insurgency’s appeal be diminished at the ground level.
LPE: The way forward
To recall, the Duterte administration officially terminated its peace talks in 2017 with the Communist Party of the Philippines-NPA-National Democratic Front due to insincerity and lack of commitment on the part of the rebel group.
The national government, however, never abandoned the peace process, nor the framework of peace. The way forward for the peace process is localized peace engagement (LPE), which is nationally-directed and centrally-supervised but locally-implemented, according to the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU).
The LPE is one of the 12 lines of effort under the NTF-ELCAC which was created through EO 70 signed by Duterte in 2018. EO 70 mandates a whole-of-nation, whole-of-society approach in addressing the root causes of the communist insurgency.
LPE is anchored on community-driven consultations because by engaging members of the community, the peacebuilding process becomes inclusive, participatory and more importantly, sustainable.
The OPAPRU said that the peace process is not only about peace talks. It also involves other components, like peacekeeping — making sure that the people and communities are safe and secured, peace-making — the transformation of the different combatants, their families and communities, and peacebuilding that includes socio-economic dimension and development in the different areas.
Lasting victory
Recent gains including dismantling of guerrilla fronts indicate that this whole-of-nation strategy is succeeding where purely military campaigns failed. When communities’ basic needs are met, the rationale for fighting the government weakens.
“With the dismantling of the guerrilla fronts we recorded an influx of members of the NPA and ‘Militia ng Bayan’ that surfaced and gave up the life of violence,” Torres said.
Also, the weakening of guerrilla fronts enabled over 10,000 former rebels to return to mainstream society under NTF-ELCAC’s reintegration programs.
“At present we have assisted more than 10,000 former rebels to be reintegrated back to mainstream society, back to their homes and loved ones,” he added.
Beyond security efforts, communities receive basic services, infrastructure and livelihood assistance to eliminate conditions that breed unrest.
Truly, the whole-of-nation approach and the whole-of-government participation is a game changer in resolving the root causes and drivers of the insurgency. It is the key towards total victory.
“From broken families and separated members, we have reconciled and mended family relations,” Torres said.
Under the Marcos administration, the Philippines is on track to become insurgency-free for the first time in decades.
“We are targeting that within the term of President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos. We will be able to dismantle all of these remaining weakened guerrilla fronts and proudly declare that the whole country will be insurgency-free!”
For a lasting peace to be won, guns and combat cannot be the only solution. Real victory will come from a peaceful, developed, and just society where insurgency no longer finds fertile ground. The key frontline is in empowering disadvantaged Filipinos.
“We are now on the road to final victory and with the commitment that was expressed by the member-agencies in this afternoon’s meeting. Masasabi ko na abot-kamay na natin ang ating tagumpay,” Torres said. (PIA-NCR)