Top officials from the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) and the Philippine Army on Wednesday confirmed President Marcos’ recent declaration that all communist guerrilla fronts across the country have been dismantled.
During his 2025 State of the Nation Address, the President announced a milestone in the government’s decades-long campaign against the New People’s Army (NPA), stating, “Finally, there are no guerrilla groups left in the country, and the government will ensure that none will be formed again.”
NTF-ELCAC and Army officials validated this statement, saying that all 89 NPA guerrilla fronts have been neutralized as of the end of 2024.
According to Army spokesperson Col. Louie Dema-Ala, the last active front—Komite Larangang Guerrilla 1 in the Bicol Region—was dismantled late last year.
These fronts were formerly structured as independent politico-military units capable of conducting armed operations and cultivating underground mass support.
Dema-Ala explained that the Army’s assessment was based on five key indicators: the neutralization or withdrawal of NPA armed elements, the breakdown of their political-military infrastructure, the loss of grassroots mass support, denial of access to guerrilla base areas, and the full restoration of government services in previously affected communities.
“With the disintegration of these five elements, the NPA has lost operational capability. What remains are small groups—typically squads of fewer than ten men—who now operate without direction, support, or territory. We now treat them as bandits, not insurgents,” Dema-Ala said.
At its height, the NPA exerted de facto control over remote areas in provinces such as Davao de Oro, Davao Oriental, and Davao del Norte—appointing local officials and running shadow governments, according to Dema-ala.
NTF-ELCAC Director Alexander Umpar highlighted the role of non-military programs in the counterinsurgency effort.
“This was made possible by a whole-of-nation approach under Executive Order No. 70. We combined combat operations with social interventions—livelihood, infrastructure, peace dialogues, and reintegration,” he said.
