Mieca Mae V.

Nalasa
AB Foreign Service / FS301
International Political Economy
Jumel G. Estrañero
February 25, 2018

Phases of Terrorism: CPP-NPA-NDFP Dynamics

When the citizens hold in disfavour of their country’s constituted government and
resort to violent measures — such as an armed uprising — attempting to overthrow or act
against the recognised government of a state, insurgence happens. Insurgency is often as-
sociated with terrorism. Though these two are politically motivated violence, they are two
dissimilar political phenomena. Terrorism’s objectives are to take revenge, make them-
selves known, and inculcate fear in the civil society. Whereas, insurgency is an act of rebel-
lion against authority; they aim to establish their own governance while providing public ser-
vices to the populace and to increase their legitimacy in the world stage. Another term linked
with insurgency is belligerency which happens when two or more entities engage in war.
Insurgency can become belligerency if the conflict is recognised in the international arena.
When insurgents have an organised structure, a territory under their dominion, and a lawful
conduct of hostilities in conformity with the laws of war, there is a recognition of belligerency.
It is the legal acknowledgment that there exists a strife between or among entities for au-
thority or power. Belligerents of a state will also receive certain rights and obligations as they
become subjects to international law.

Furthermore, Maoism or the Mao Tse-tung Ssu-hsiang (“Mao Zedong Thought”) is a

political theory developed by the best known theorist of insurgency, Mao Zedong. Mao’s
ideology clearly represented a revolutionary method. He laid out three phases of insurgency,
namely: Political work, Guerrilla warfare, and Conventional war. The first phase — Political
work — begins with organising and consolidating a base. Cadres live, work, and mingle with
the locals, usually in rural and remote areas. From there, they recruit their followers and
establish their group. The second phase is the armed struggle or the guerrilla warfare
wherein they scheme their ploys either to spread terror or to gain political support. The third
or last phase is the Conventional war where insurgent military operations become more
massive and deleterious. Mao’s political ideas in Maoism became the guiding philosophy of
insurgency.

Jose Maria Sison was a student activist who founded the Communist Party of the
Philippines which strives for the establishment of a new democratic state. This new state
aims to expel the influence of the United States in the Philippines to be led by the working
class. The CPP’s armed wing is the New People’s Army while its political arm is the National
Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP). The NDFP represents the CPP-NPA in talks
with the government of the Philippines. The CPP-NPA has a Maoist and Marxis-Leninist
ideology; the group also aims to initiate a cultural revolution, redistribute lands to the land-
less penurious people, and mobilise the masses in rural areas. The organization operates
throughout the country and is generally focused on building support in rural areas. In most
cases, CPP-NPA targets politicians, government forces, companies that don’t pay their “rev-
olutionary taxes,” and also the U.S. interests in the country.

On December 5, 2017, President Rodrigo Duterte issued a proclamation which clas-

sified CPP-NPA as a terrorist group, but the government must seek clearance from the court
through the Department of Justice before an organization or a group can be proclaimed as
a terrorist organization.
 The way I see it, activists, militants, rebels, and other aggressive and violent groups
should be considered as terrorists; in the sense that they harm innocent lives, inculcate
trepidation, and basically harm the society. Terrorism is a serious violent issue that has
different forms (i.e., insurgence, belligerence, etc.). Killing is an act of terrorism, hence
groups or associations that commit violent acts and endanger the well-being and security of
the society are terrorists.

Jus in bello, or International Humanitarian Law (IHL) serve as the guidelines that
govern the conduct of warfare. It regulates the behaviour of the actors involved in an armed
conflict. “The CPP-NPA-NDFP is not a state nor has any government recognized it as a
belligerent force,” this is according to the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace
Process (2011). They cannot assert the belligerent status under IHL as they are not the
victims of aggression. They continue resorting to violent acts such as abduction, killings,
etc. The CPP-NPA-NDFP does not even conform to the peaceful measures set by the gov-
ernment to ease or stop the conflict. Also, despite having signed the Comprehensive Agree-
ment on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law or CARHRIHL, they
still violate its protocols.

One of the three major theories of Political Economy is Marxism. Karl Marx, the pro-
ponent of the Marxist Theory or the Conflict Theory, sees that the society is in conflict. This
conflict is between the rich (bourgeoisie) and the poor (proletariat). Marx believed that the
capitalist system made sure that the poor remained poor and the rich get richer. He was on
the side of the proletariat; according to him, the proletariat will begin to plot on ways to
change this kind of system. This radical change could only come about through a revolution,
when the working class will work together to overthrow the factory owners who were treating
them unfairly. This expresses activism, where a group of people decide to take action with
the desire to reform the society. And in place of a capitalist state, a new system — where all
people will be treated equally and all factories are communally owned — will be established.
Marx, then, called this system as Communism.

The Philippine Government should try making another peace accord that will benefit
both parties. The current administration should gain the trust of these cadres again. Inviting
the CPP-NPA-NDFP to fora and hearing out what they will really want to happen; from this,
both parties will formulate conditions under a peace agreement. It is crucial that the involved
actors will together come up with the agreement’s conditions in order for them to understand
each other’s objectives.
Reference/s:

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