The government’s anti-insurgency body says the New People’s Army (NPA) has shrunk to a fraction of its former size, citing new data presented during the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict’s (NTF-Elcac) 7th anniversary briefing.
Ernesto Torres Jr., NTF-Elcac’s executive director, said the latest figures point to a sharp decline in guerrilla numbers. “Based on a recent report that we received, there are only 780 NPAs across the country,” he told reporters. “That’s relatively small because at their peak, they numbered about 25,000.”
The current estimate represents a significant drop from 2023 military data, which placed the communist armed wing’s strength at around 1,500. Despite the downward trend, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) has insisted the insurgency remains intact. In a January statement, CPP spokesperson Marco Valbuena acknowledged the NPA “suffered setbacks over the past years” but asserted that the movement is “far from defeated.”
Alongside the membership update, the government disclosed a surge in amnesty applications tied to former rebels. Data released by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity showed that 5,043 of the 6,314 applicants processed by 20 local amnesty boards nationwide are former NPA members. The National Amnesty Commission (NAC), which supervises the program, has also received applications from ex-Islamic militants and splinter communist groups, all subject to the approval of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
So far, Marcos has granted amnesty to nine individuals, eight of whom once fought under the NPA. Those still navigating the process are issued safe conduct passes so they can participate in legal proceedings without the threat of arrest for pending cases.
The amnesty initiative follows renewed talks between the government and the National Democratic Front, the CPP’s political arm, which last year committed to pursuing what was described in the Oslo Joint Communique as a “principled and peaceful resolution of the armed conflict.”
The NPA was founded on March 29, 1969, and is widely regarded as the longest-running Maoist insurgency in the world.
