Once again, the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac) has dusted off its worn-out script, loudly proclaiming to the public that the New People’s Army (NPA) in Negros has suffered an “irreversible collapse” and is “totally defeated.” Following the encounters in Toboso and Cauayan, the reactionary state is desperately trying to convince the public, and perhaps themselves, that the flame of the people’s war on the island has been extinguished, to appease their imperialist masters and its local toadies.

However, these premature victory celebrations are nothing new. As Comrade Jose Maria Sison said, the reactionary state suffers from a chronic, incurable blindness: it mistakes a temporary twist in the road for the end of the journey. For over fifty years, the ruling class has repeatedly declared the revolution dead, only to find themselves continuously haunted by its presence. Their declarations of “victory” are mere illusions, completely contradicted by the material conditions in Negros.

The fundamental error of the NTF-ELCAC’ analysis lies in their mechanical and bourgeois worldview. They foolishly believe that a revolutionary movement can be eradicated by targeting individual cadres or liquidating specific command structures.

The lifeblood of the revolutionary movement is drawn from the very social conditions of the island. So long as the farmers do not have land to till, workers suffer in poor working conditions, youth are denied of their right to education, and the national bourgeoisie are crushed by foreign corporations, a revolutionary will emerge in every corner of the society, especially in Negros which remains a classic picture of this exploitation. Negros is a social volcano and its crusts are cracking under the weight of severe class contradictions.

Moreover, if the armed movement on the island were truly a spent force, it would be impossible to sustain political and military operations. Yet, under the absolute leadership of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), the NPA in Negros continues to carry out its three integral tasks: mass base building, agrarian revolution, and armed struggle.

Execution of these tasks requires deep integration with the masses. An organization that is “totally defeated” cannot maintain the logistical, political, and social fabric required to sustain guerrilla operations. The continuous activity of the NPA proves that its roots among the Negrosanon remain deep and unbreakable.

The reactionary state’s words and actions are in total contradiction. If the NPA in Negros is truly a phantom of the past, a simple mathematical question arises: Why does the island remain a top priority for the state’s counter-insurgency operations, requiring the permanent deployment of over seven military battalions?

This heavy concentration of state forces is an admission of fear and panic. The reactionary state knows that the social volcano of Negros is always on the verge of erupting. They deploy thousands of troops not because they are winning, but because they are terrified of the deep-seated anger of the masses. By pouring an overwhelming number of battalions into the island, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) inadvertently reveals the high regard it actually holds for the revolutionary strength of the Negrosanon people.

By relying on state terror, particularly on militarization of communities, the state only deepens the very grievances that drive the masses into the ranks of red fighters. The New People’s Army in Negros will continue to persist and advance because it is an army of the exploited, fighting for national democratic revolution with a socialist perspective.

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