No sign of peace talks: Military campaign to finish off NPA continues

CAGAYAN DE ORO, Philippines – The government has no plans to resume peace negotiations with the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA), instead opting to sustain the use of military force to end the decades-old rebellion.

“Our President has ordered an end to the CPP-NPA. Finish them off now,” Army Chief Lieutenant General Romeo Brawner Jr. instructed the new commander of the 4th Infantry Division in Cagayan de Oro on Thursday, March 23.

Major General Jose Maria Cuerpo, a veteran hunter of the Dawlah Islamiyah terror group, has taken over as commander of the Army division responsible for fighting the communist rebels in northern and eastern Mindanao.

Brawner, who installed Cuerpo to replace outgoing Major General Wilbur Mamawag, gave a direct order to “finish the fight.”

Mamawag turned 56 years old on Thursday, the military’s mandatory retirement age.

Brawner, incidentally, also served as commander of the 4th ID before rising to become Army chief, following the footsteps of many other top military commanders before him.

His pronouncements were indicative of the Marcos Jr. administration’s position to sustain efforts to end the longest-running communist insurgency in Southeast Asia through military might, and that it would unlikely resume peace negotiations that were stopped during the Duterte administration.

“I admit that fulfilling the command’s mandated mission will prove challenging,” Cuerpo said. 

He has assumed command of one of Mindanao’s largest infantries that boasts of recent achievements against the CPP-NPA, including the killing of National Democratic Front spokesperson and NPA chief Jorge Madlos alias Ka Oris and NDF consultant Pedro Cudaste.

Cuerpo, who hails from Iligan City, is a member of the Philippine Military Academy “Bigkis-Lahi” Class of 1990. Before his appointment, he was the deputy chief of staff for personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

He is also a former commander of the Army’s 103rd Infantry Brigade in Marawi City, where he spent five years hunting the remnants of the Dawlah Islamiyah terror group.

Cuerpo led troops in overrunning a Dawlah Islamiyah camp in Maguing, Lanao del Sur in March 2022, killing at least 40 militants and seizing a sizable amount of war materiel. 

He also led Army patrols during the five-month fighting between the government and the Maute-led Dawlah Islamiyah terror group during the Marawi Siege. – Rappler.com