The Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC) has named Elizabeth Pineda Principe, a member of the Communist Party of the Philippines and the New People’s Army (CPP-NPA), as a terrorist.
In the seven-page Resolution No. 53, the ATC maintained the terrorist designations to the CPP-NPA as well as the Islamic State East Asia (ISEA) and other Daesh-linked, or associated groups in the Philippines.
The ATC resolution stated the council found probable cause to designate Pineda as a terrorist individual “based on verified and validated information, sworn statements and pieces of evidence gathered by different Philippine law enforcement agencies and the military.”
The ATC added Pineda, also known in various aliases, is designated terrorist for violating Republic Act 11479, or “The Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020” particularly for committing terrorism; for planning, training, preparing and facilitating the commission of terrorism; and for recruitment to and membership in a terrorist organization or groups organized for engaging terrorism.
A copy of the resolution, designating Pineda as a terrorist is available on the Official Gazette where details of her violations, how the ATC came up with the decision to designate her as a terrorist, and her other aliases or names were stated, among other information.
The ATC also issued Resolution No. 54, maintaining the terrorist designation of the CPP-NPA, or the “Bagong Hukbong Bayan” as a terrorist organization “as they continue to target government forces and sow terror and fear among the public” based on the 268 atrocities recorded from December 2020 to August 2023.
Among the grounds cited by the ATC in maintaining the terrorist organization to the CPP-NPA were the killing of national football athlete, Keith Absalon, who died in a roadside explosion caused by an improvised explosive device, and the attacks in Masbate that forced the suspension of classes in four towns.
The ATC also cited the 54 cases for violation of the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suspension Act of 2012 and the ATA, and 478 pending court cases, based on the data from the Philippine National Police (PNP) as of December 31, 2023.
“The Council, by virtue of the powers vested in the ATC pursuant to Section 45, in relation to Rule 6.7, IRR of the ATA, hereby maintains the designation of the CPP-NPA as a terrorist organization on the ground that the basis for the designation still exists,” the ATC Resolution No. 54, which is available on the Official Gazette, stated.
ATC Resolution No. 55, on the other hand, maintains the designation of the Islamic State East Asia (ISEA) and other Daesh-linked or associated groups in the Philippines as terrorist organizations, associations, or groups of persons pursuant to Resolution No. 13, series of 2020.
In maintaining the terrorist designation of the ISEA and other Daesh-linked or associated groups in the Philippines such as the Abu Sayyaf, the groups of Maute, Maguid, Turaifie, Hassan, and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, the ATC cited their “continued involvement in terrorist activities” in violation of the ATA.
The ATC said the ISEA and other Daesh-linked groups particularly violated Sections 4, 5, 6, 9 and 10 of the ATA.
A complete copy of Resolution No. 55 can be accessed on the Official Gazette where other details are stated.
Resolutions No. 53, 54 and 55 were approved on December 6, 2023.
The anti-insurgency campaign under the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has considerably weakened the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF), according to a national security official.
National Security Council (NSC) Assistant Director-General Jonathan Malaya told a Quezon City news forum that although the (CPP-NPA-NDF) has waned, they are still capable of sowing chaos and disorder.
“In terms of threats sa ating bansa, the threat of the CPP-NPA-NDF is waning but it cannot yet be discounted. If you will remember, there has been several encounters in the past – few weeks ‘no may incident na tayo sa Abra, mayroon tayong insidente sa Camarines Sur, there was an incident yesterday or the other day in Albay,” Malaya said.
“So even if we have remaining nine weakened guerilla fronts, there are remnants that can still create problems in geographically isolated areas. But, as a threat to the established order or a threat to the democratic system of the Philippines, they are no longer a threat because they have been strategically defeated last year or the other year,” he stated.
Malaya, however, said CPP-NPA’s aboveground organizations are now harping on similar themes from the propagandists, apologists, and fearmongers in the great power competition in the West Philippine Sea issue.
These leftist groups are now saying that the Philippines’ actions in the WPS are a provocation, and the Balikatan military exercises and the deployment of troops in the Ayungin Shoal is provoking China.
“So, in that sense, they continue to be a national security threat because that in essence, supports the argument of China. It supports the arguments of China that it is the Philippines that is provoking and creating tensions in the West Philippine Sea,” Malaya said.
SURRENDER A rebel turning over a firearm to Las Navas, Northern Samar Mayor Arlito Tan in this April 18, 2024 photo. Two members of the New People’s Army (NPA) and a member of the rebel’s militia unit have laid down their arms and voluntarily surrendered to the military and members of the municipal task force to end local communist armed conflict in Las Navas, Northern Samar. According to National Security Council Assistant Director-General Jonathan Malaya, the anti-insurgency campaign under the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has considerably weakened the CPP-NPA-NDF. PNA
“I asked this left people, itong mga nasa aboveground organizations – whose side are you really on? Kasi magkaalaman na tayo ngayon, sabihin na nila kung pro-China sila or hindi. Kasi from our standpoint in the National Security Council, they are now siding with China,” he added.
The NSC official expressed disappointment and surprise that the groups who patriotically support the country “are now taking the bait” and supporting China’s argument with regard to the WPS. PND
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