The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) is celebrating its 56th founding anniversary today, December 26, directing its membership and the New People’s Army (NPA) to frustrate the all-out war by the Ferdinand Marcos Jr. government.
In a statement issued today, the CPP Central Committee said the NPA is set to recover from the losses it suffered in the past years, inspired by its ongoing third rectification movement.
The CPP also encouraged its members to “gain new victories and advance the Filipino people’s revolutionary resistance.”
Earlier, the CPP belied the AFP’s claims that the NPA is down to “one weakened front.”
While acknowledging “grave losses and reversals in some regions and guerilla fronts,” the CPP’s top leadership said the revolutionary party has “quickly reorganized and redeployed in line with the rectification movement” and have made gains in recovering and expanding its mass bases.
The CPP said that guerrilla units of the NPA are now “creatively and wisely exercising flexibility” and frustrating much of the enemy’s strategy of gradual constriction and sustained military operations.
The Party credited the ongoing internal rectification movement for its current strength in overcoming errors and shortcomings in the past years.
“The Party’s rectification movement has inspired the Red fighters of the (NPA) to persevere along the arduous path of the protracted people’s war to rebuild and expand the mass base, defend the people against state terrorism, preserve and strengthen the NPA, and frustrate the enemy’s strategic offensives,” it declared.
In its traditional founding anniversary statement, the CPP directed the NPA to “take the initiative to mount tactical offensives, selecting targets that it can defeat.”
It also directed the NPA to deepen its ties with the masses and “render economic, health and education services to the peasant masses, while guiding them in waging anti-feudal struggles.”
The CPP called on members to “conscientiously build or rebuild the underground movement” as these are the “ready pool of Party recruits.”
“The underground movement must be expanded in order to help conceal and secure the leading Party cadres and organizers. At the same time, it must carry out widespread revolutionary propaganda to broadcast the call for people’s war to rouse the people to support and join the (NPA),” it said. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
