MANILA -- The 50th anniversary of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA) is best described as "downgraded", Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) public affairs office chief Col. Noel Detoyato said, quoting a former ranking member of the rebel group.
The NPA, the rebel group's armed wing, is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union.
In a message to the Philippine News Agency (PNA), the military official said he declined to give an assessment of the rebels' anniversary as he might fall into the trap of "self aggrandizement". Instead, he quoted the observations of a former ranking leader of the communist terrorist organization.
"So I will borrow the words of a former member of the CPP-NPA-NDF (National Democratic Front) Central Committee who refused to be identified for fear of reprisal from his former comrades," Detoyato said.
"Compared to previous years sir, downgraded and they were not able to sustain big assemblies with their allies and organized masses attending the event," he added, quoting the former rebel leader.
The CPP-NPA-NDF was forced to make small internal gatherings and the pomposity of their annual anniversary events was reduced to an internal affair.
This, the former NPA leader said, can be attributed to the Filipino people's lack of regard and support to the CPP and lack of belief in the cause it is fighting for.
"This gives a complete colored picture of how the CPP-NPA-NDF celebrated. Plus the frustration of Mr. Joma Sison (CPP founding chair) for not being able to witness the 'event' which to my mind worked well for him because he might just get a heart attack because of dismay," Detoyato said. (PNA)
