(CPP). But various splinter groups have since separated from the CPP and have had a history of armed conflict with the Philippine government since then.
The Hukbalahap Rebellion was initiated by the
Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas of 1930 (PKP-1930) and its armed group the Hukbalahap[1]: 44 (HMB) (Hukbong Mapagpalaya ng Bayan, or "People's Liberation Army"). They went into decline in the early 1950s and was finally put down through a series of reforms and military victories which led to the 1954 surrender of its leader Luis Taruc
.
The armed conflict of the New People's Army against the Philippine government can be traced back to March 29, 1969, when Jose Maria Sison's newly formed CPP entered an alliance with a small armed group led by Bernabe Buscayno. But the conflict was still in its infancy in 1972 when Ferdinand Marcos proclaimed Martial law. The declaration and the resulting human rights abuses led to the radicalization of even the moderate opposition against Marcos, significantly swelling the ranks of the New People's Army.[2]: "43"
Major splits away from the Communist Party of the Philippines occurred in 1992 and 1996. A month after Marcos was ousted through the broad-based nonviolent
Marxist-Leninist Party of the Philippines (MLPP).[6]
Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas of 1930 (PKP-1930) formed an armed group called the Hukbo ng Bayan Laban sa Hapon (People's Army against the Japanese) to fight against the Japanese occupation of the Philippines during World War II. At the end of the war in 1946, the PKP-1930 reconstituted the Hukbalahap as the Hukbong Mapagpalaya ng Bayan ("Peoples' Liberation Army"), transforming it into the party's armed wing. This conflict ended in 1954 under the presidency of Ramon Magsaysay.[1]
This conflict was still in its infancy in 1972 when Ferdinand Marcos proclaimed Martial law, but expanded significantly as even the moderate opposition against Marcos was radicalized.[2]: "43" The Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas (PKP), then allied with Ferdinand Marcos, was responsible for killing more communists than the Marcos government itself due to a growing youth faction within the party called the Marxist-Leninist Group (MLG) opposing Marcos' imposition of martial law nationwide and attempting to splinter from the PKP.[8]
The CPP went through a series of setbacks and internal conflicts after the ouster of Ferdinand Marcos in 1986, including the breaking away of the Cordillera People's Liberation Army of former priest Conrado Balweg. CPP co-founder Jose Maria Sison went into exile in the Netherlands in 1987 while Benito Tiamzon reportedly became the leader of the party upon successively acquiring the positions of chairman and secretary general in 1986 and 1987 respectively.[9]
In 1992 the CPP went through what it calls the Second Great Rectification Movement, whose stated intent was to "identify, repudiate and rectify the errors of urbaninsurrectionism, premature big formations of the New People's Army and anti-infiltration hysteria".[4] This resulted in the split of the party into "Re-affirmist" and "Rejectionist" groups, resulting in the formation of at least 13 factions during the 1990s.[5][6][7]
Cordillera People's Liberation Army conflict (February–September 1986)
A month after Marcos was ousted through the broad-based nonviolent People Power Revolution of February 1986, the unit led by former priest Conrado Balweg broke away from the New People's Army, accusing the latter of incompetence in pursuing its goals.[10] Balweg's splinter group became known as the Cordillera People's Liberation Army (CPLA). The formation of the CPLA also saw the merger of the Tingguian Liberation Force, a splinter group from NPA Abra to form the Cordillera organization.[10] Their stated goal was to fight for the self-determination of the people of Cordillera.[11]
The group began peace talks with the Philippine government later that year, and on September 13, 1986, the CPLA and the
MLPP-RHB, and the Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawa Mindanao (Revolutionary Worker's Party - Mindanao - Revolutionary Peoples' Army, RWP-M/RPA, sometimes also RPA-M).[14]
The split resulted in a weakening of the CPP-NPA, but it gradually grew again after the breakdown of peace talks in 1999,[15] the unpopularity of the Estrada administration,[16] and because of social pressures arising from the Asian Financial Crisis that year.[17]
Revolutionary Proletarian Army – Alex Boncayao Brigade conflict (1996–2000)
Marxism-Leninism-Maoism. This became the Marxist–Leninist Party of the Philippines which soon initiated conflict with the Philippine government through its armed wing, the Rebolusyonaryong Hukbong Bayan (RHB).[24]: 682 [25]
The conflict is still ongoing,[26][27][28] although incidents covered in the media focus more on incidents arising from the rivalry between RHB and NPA.[26]
Revolutionary Workers’ Party in Mindanao (2000–ongoing peace talks)
Breaking away from the Communist Party of the Philippines during the 1992 split, the group which called itself the CMR (Central Mindanao Region) Rejectionist Group initially joined other rejectionist factions from elsewhere in the country. During peace negotiations with the Estrada administration, however, they split from the other groups and formed the Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawa sa Mindanao (RPM-M, lit. Revolutionary Workers’ Party in Mindanao). The group quietly began peace negotiations with the Philippine Government in 2003.[29]
^Saracho, Joel (April 27, 1987). "The men they call Sparrows". Manila Standard. Standard Publications, Inc. p. 2. Retrieved November 26, 2020. ...[T]he Alex Boncayao Brigade (ABB), the urban guerilla [sic] unit of the New People's Army that the military has labeled the Sparrow Unit.
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