The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) refuted Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s claim in his fourth state of the nation address (SONA) on July 28 that “there are no more guerrilla groups” in the country. According to the Party, this is pure deception, especially since the New People’s Army (NPA) and the revolutionary movement continue to advance and enjoy deep and broad support from the people in the countryside.
Party information officer Marco Valbuena explained that since 2017, simultaneous with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)’s implementation of the intensified and brutal extermination campaign, the NPA’s guerrilla units have been reorganized and redeployed to further deepen and extend their roots among the people.
“A new generation of young Red fighters continues to slowly rise among workers, peasants and petty-bourgeois intellectuals,” he said.
Valbuena added that the Red fighters of the NPA are carrying forward the armed revolution with firmer determination guided and inspired by the Party. Recall that the Central Committee of the Party called for a rectification movement in December 2023, along with a call to further strengthen the armed struggle in the countryside.
On SONA day, the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) also declared that the Philippine revolution remains steadfast, especially amid the worsening political and economic crisis in the country. “It is the Philippine crises—the state of the nation—that breeds revolutionaries. No amount of wars of repression can stifle a revolution,” NDFP secretary general Elias Dipasupil stated.
He said that today’s revolutionaries continue to learn from their predecessors and from their own experiences. “As the movement undergoes its rectification process, the revolutionaries steel their fighting spirit, deepen their understanding of Philippine society, get closer to the basic masses, expand and consolidate their organizations, be good at united front tactics, and march forth,” according to Dipasupil.
Meanwhile, Valbuena said that Marcos’ own actions directly contradict his declarations that no guerrilla groups remain in the country. He remarked that, despite repeated announcements that the AFP will now focus on “external defense,” the majority of its combat battalions remain deployed against the NPA’s guerrilla fronts nationwide.
In his third SONA last year, Marcos claimed that only seven weakened people’s army guerrilla fronts remained. Six months later, in December 2024, only one weakened front was announced remaining and at least 1,100 NPA fighters had been neutralized. These were claimed wiped out this July.
According to Valbuena, this grand declaration by Marcos will explode in his face. “Like all previous regimes who declared they will crush the NPA, Marcos and his armed forces are bound to fail. History will prove Marcos utterly wrong,” he added.
Besides this, Marcos also boasted in his speech about the present-day collusion of traitors, who once supported the revolutionary cause of the people, with the fascist regime. “It is fine that they have shown their true class colors, and have now exposed themselves as instruments of the fascist regime,” Valbuena stated.
Valbuena further said that, despite all the lethal weapons provided by the US to the Marcos regime, it has failed and will fail to stop the steady regrowth and expansion of the NPA who remain deeply rooted among the people.
“Under Marcos, the three basic problems of imperialism, feudalism and bureaucrat capitalism continue to grow worse and more oppressive. The puppet, fascist and corrupt Marcos regime continues to make the grounds for armed resistance more fertile,” Valbuena concluded.
