MANILA - Only five communist guerrilla fronts remain active, Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff Lt. Gen. Bartolome Bacarro said Monday.

During the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte, there were as many as 89 guerrilla fronts.

Bacarro said there are 19 communist guerrilla fronts that are being pursued, but these are classified as “weakened.”

“Insurgency is already in the down trend. It has reached the level na kaya na natin sila. This is a commitment we have given to the former president and to the current president,” Bacarro told reporters in Camp Aguinaldo.

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He went on, “We have a thinking enemy also. For every action we do, there is always a reaction. So kailangan natin ng counteraction. But I am happy to report that out of the 89 active guerrilla fronts that we had starting 2018, right now, we have around 24 guerrilla fronts."

"But out of these 24 guerrilla fronts, only five are active. The remaining 19 are now classified as weakened.”

Most of the active communist armed groups are based in Samar and Cotabato.

The AFP chief said he expects the remaining guerrilla fronts to be dismantled “within a short period of time,” adding that communist rebels are losing relevance due to the continuous decrease of their forces.

“We are gaining traction. We are gaining a lot of accomplishments in further reducing the capabilities of the enemy, particularly insurgents. This comes in the form of manpower nila, firearms nila, resource generation, even the support they’re getting from the people and the community, medyo mababa na,” said Bacarro.

According to the AFP, there are only around 2,100 communist rebels holding arms.

Ending communist insurgency in the Philippines will be one of Duterte's legacies when he steps down from power, his ally Sen. Roland "Bato" Dela Rosa had said in November last year. Duterte ended his term last June 30.

The communist insurgency movement in the country was established in 1969 and continues to be an internal security concern of the government, with its armed fighters attacking police stations, military outposts, other government facilities, and private companies.

The NPA strength reached more than 20,000 in the 1980s. While the number has dwindled over the years, various administrations failed to realize their pronounced goals of crushing the armed movement. The military estimated the number of armed communist rebels at 3,500 as of November 2021.

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Peace talks between the group and the government have been on and off, with Duterte finally terminating the negotiations in 2019.

• Bato says ending communist insurgency in PH will be among Duterte's legacies

- with report from Jamaine Punzalan, ABS-CBN News

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