New People's Army (Philippines)

The New People's Army (NPA; Filipino: Bagong Hukbong Bayan, BHB) is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). It acts as the CPP's principal organization, aiming to consolidate political power from what it sees as the present "bourgeois reactionary puppet government" and to aid in the "people's democratic revolution". Founded on March 29, 1969, by the collaboration of Jose Maria Sison and former members of the Hukbalahap led by Bernabe Buscayno, the NPA has since waged a guerrilla war based on the Maoist strategy of protracted people's war. One of its famous members was Nelida Cabigayan. The NPA is the primary belligerent in the ongoing communist rebellion in the Philippines, the longest ongoing conflict in the country. Historically based primarily in the Philippine countryside, the CPP–NPA's area of influence has fluctuated significantly. In 2018, the CPP claimed to operate in 73 out of the country's 81 provinces across over 110 guerrilla fronts. However, by August 2025, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) declared that there were no active guerrilla fronts remaining in the country, citing a reduction in NPA strength to fewer than 785 combatants. In guerrilla zones where the NPA established control, the CPP–NPA created a People's Democratic Government (Gobyernong Bayan), which operated independently of the Philippine government. Within these zones, the NPA collected "revolutionary taxes" from businesses and residents to fund operations and community services. The NPA, represented by the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), was a party to peace talks with the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP). Negotiations reached an impasse during the Rodrigo Duterte administration, which unilaterally terminated peace talks in 2019. The Office of the President of the Philippines designated the NPA as a terrorist group, along with the CPP, in 2017. The United States and the European Union designated the CPP–NPA as "foreign terrorist organizations" in 2002 and 2005, respectively. Japan's Public Security Intelligence Agency also lists the NPA as a major international terrorist organization.