UNPOPULAR OPINION | Anakbayan and cohorts exert political effort to help NPA retreat in Negros

When news broke of a major loss by the New People’s Army (NPA) in Negros Occidental—reportedly leaving 19 of its members dead—Anakbayan and national democratic youth organizations wasted little time in framing the story. They denounce “militarization” and call for the island’s protection from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

According to the 303rd Infantry Brigade, the encounter that led to the NPA’s losses was not a random act of aggression but a response to information provided by local residents themselves. In other words, the operation was not merely a top-down military initiative—it was, at least in part, community-driven.

That detail complicates the narrative being pushed by Anakbayan and its cohorts. If communities are the ones rejecting the NPA’s presence, then they want protection against the terrorists, not the AFP.

Calling to push the Armed Forces of the Philippines out of Negros may sound counterintuitive, given its mandate to protect the people. By exerting political pressure, they can constrain military operations and create breathing room for the NPA to withdraw safely and regroup after a setback.

In a very uncharacteristically sober and defeatist tone, the CPP’s mouthpiece Marcos Valbuena today released a statement that reads more like an admission than defiance.

“The fog of war hangs thick over Toboso as the Marcos fascist regime and its Armed Forces of the Philippines scramble to control the narrative and spread disinformation,” he said. But it is, in fact, the CPP that is now scrambling to regain control of the narrative. 

According to former rebels, the Communist Party of the Philippine’s next moves are predictable. It will be patching together a version of events that can soften the blow of mounting losses and contain the growing perception of strategic collapse. It will command its underlings to find ways to shift narratives, conduct “humanitarian and solidarity missions,” and raise funds to support their allies in Negros. They argue that these are calibrated approaches that aim to recover influence in the political arena while their armed counterparts recover on the ground.

The real question, then, is not whether Negros should be protected. It is from whom—and whose version of “protection” the public is being asked to accept.