Nearly 1,500 LGUs declare CPP-NPA as persona non grata

By Bea Bernardo / PTV News

A total of 1,436 local government units (LGUs) have declared the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) as persona non grata in their areas.

According to new National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) spokesperson Jonathan Malaya, this is the first time in the over 50 years of fighting against the group that a huge number of LGUs stood against their violence.

“We now see that the problem is a more complex problem that has to be addressed using many tools of the government,” Malaya said, noting that six regions in the country have fully declared CPP-NPA as persona non grata.

The regions that have a full persona non grata declaration against the CPP-NPA are Central Luzon, Mimaropa, Central Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Soccsksargen, and Cordillera Administrative Region.

In the National Capital Region, among the cities declaring the group as unwelcome are Caloocan, Las Piῆas, Mandaluyong, Muntinlupa, Navotas, Pasig, Quezon City, San Juan, and Valenzuela.

The reported violence of the group has been formally brought up by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) after submitting its report covering the period of 2010 to 2020.

Based on the report of Brig. Gen. Jose Alejandro Nanac, AFP Director of Center for Law on Armed Conflict, the CPP-NPA was allegedly involved in 289 incidents of willful killing. (AG-rir)