Army claims CPP-NPA ‘extorted’ PHP 5.7B in six years

By Jennifer P. Rendon

The Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) extorted about PHP 5.7 billion from 2016 to 2022, according to the Philippine Army’s 3rd Infantry Division (3ID).

Col. Erwin Rommel Lamzon, chief of the 3ID Public Affairs Office, said businessmen were the biggest “givers” of extortion money in the division’s areas of responsibility, which cover Western Visayas, formerly including Negros Occidental, and Central Visayas, including Negros Oriental.

In a press conference at the Police Regional Office 6 headquarters in Camp Martin Delgado, Iloilo City, the 3ID said local rebels targeted businesses engaged in telecommunications, agro-industrial operations, commercial establishments, mining, bus operations, trucking, construction, quarrying and logging, and multinational corporations.

The CPP-NPA also targeted private individuals, farmers, entrepreneurs, and politicians.

Politicians were deemed especially vulnerable to extortion during campaign periods.

Lamzon said the estimated figure was based on testimonies of former rebels and intelligence reports.

“By 2023 until recently, humina na sila. Kaya wala na ring na-record masyado na extortion rackets,” he said.

The CPP-NPA’s so-called tax implementing unit could no longer impose “revolutionary taxes” because its Special Partisan Unit (SPARU) no longer had the power to harass or threaten targets, he added.

Lamzon said the group used four resource-generation schemes to sustain extortion activities.

These included Terrorist Finance Networking (TFN), Rebolusyonaryong Buwis sa Kaaway na Uri (RBKU), BUTAW, and Underground Mass Organization (UGMO) dues.

The TFN was employed internationally, where the group tried to undermine the Philippine government.

The RBKU targeted businesses, corporations, and politicians.

BUTAW referred to mandatory contributions collected from members and mass-base supporters, sometimes forcibly, to sustain NPA operations.

UGMO dues were taken from CTG-allied groups.