NPA’s ‘permit to campaign’ not an issue in the 2025 polls anymore – Año

August 15, 2024

With the New People’s Army (NPA)’s down to 5 weakened guerrilla fronts, the scourge of the so-called “permit to campaign” being imposed by the terror group to political candidates is not anymore an issue in next year’s midterm election, National Security Adviser (NSA) Secretary Eduardo Año said.

“For the next election in 2025, I don’t think it’s going to be an issue with the very minimal presence now of the NPA,” answered Ano, when asked about the issue during a dinner dialogue with top executives of various media organizations held Tuesday night at Seda Vertis North in Quezon City.

Other than the NPA, Año revealed that the security sector – the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) – and the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) should be wary of the elections in areas covering the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

“Ang ating concern sa next election is the BARMM. We might be putting more troops into BARMM areas just to ensure that, because this is their first BARMM parliamentary election. May problema pa sa stability,” he said.

In May 2025, the Philippine electorate will be trooping to polling precincts to cast their votes for political wannabes in the national, regional, and local elective positions in the government.

Año said the NPA, the armed component of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), has already been decimated in all its politico-military spectrum capabilities.

At the same event, National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) Executive Director Ernesto Torres Jr. gave an update to the media executives that the CPP-NPA’s election influence in some critical areas is indeed waning.

“Hopefully, we would like to see in this coming 2025 election that the Filipino electorate would completely shun voting for candidates who are terror groomers. We would like to have a Congress free from these kinds of government officials who continue to radicalize and recruit young students to the violent and bloody armed movement,” Torres said.

In retrospect, Torres said that the government's decades-old anti-insurgency campaign is nearing its end with the massive defeat of the NPA in all fronts, from 89 active guerrilla fronts to now only 7 weakened, but two of which are set to be declared eliminated soon.

With this update, Ano said the government is on the verge of closing the violent and bloody chapter of the CPP-NPA in Philippine history within the year or next year.

Relatedly, still on election concerns, Ano said: “Ang naging problema lang natin actually ay ‘yung mga political violence between traditional political families and political goons.”

“Noong 2019 at saka 2022, when I was the DILG secretary naglabas kami noon ng order na lahat ng mayor, lahat ng candidates, that those who will provide money or materials to the CPP-NPA will be automatically charged, cases will be filed before the Ombudsman. So, medyo maraming natakot na mayor noon, mga candidates. I think minsan nagwo-work ‘yan e,” he recalled.

Año said many candidates won without succumbing to the NPA’s extortion strategies like the “permit to campaign” or “permit to win”.

“Pagkatapos nilang hindi magbigay, walang nangyari. O, pwede naman pala e. Pwede rin naman palang hindi magbigay, tapos wala din naman palang nangyari, noong kampanya panalo pa rin kami. “yan ang sinasabi ng mga nanalo noong 2019,” he said. ###

NTF-ELCAC MEDIA BUREAU

Ref: Joel M. Sy Egco

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