Committed to the revolutionary path to genuine peace, NDF-ST vows to mobilize all its forces to defeat the anti-communist and anti-people National Task Force (NTF) of the US-Duterte regime and all efforts by the militarist state to install an absolute dictatorship.

This reaffirmation comes as the people and the revolutionary movement anticipate graver and more underhanded attacks from the reactionary government and its mercenary armed forces.

The invention of the Red October Plot, the recent arrests of NDFP consultants Adelberto Silva and Vicente Ladlad, the appointment of military officials to civilian posts, the looming threat of the extension of Martial Law in Mindanao, the Sagay City massacre, and the unveiling of the NTF all point to a grand plan for the annihilation of the reactionary regime’s greatest enemy—the revolutionary movement led by the CPP-NPA-NDF.

At the center of this anti-revolutionary scheme lies the NTF. The NTF is an amalgamation of past operational plans against the CPP-NPA-NDF, and will utilize the machinery of the whole reactionary state to destroy revolutionary bases and decimate the NPA. The bloodthirsty generals and right-wing forces in Duterte’s government are at the helm of the NTF, which is certain to aggravate the appalling state of human rights in the country.

The NTF is a means to satisfy the military’s lust for power while waiting for the establishment of a complete fascist dictatorship. Allowing the military to flex its muscles via the NTF is, conversely, a way for Duterte and his clique to hold on to power. This is the perfect example of a corrupt transaction typical of reactionaries and fascists like Duterte and the AFP.

The US-Duterte regime errs in thinking that it is capable of ending the revolutionary movement with the NTF or any other means. The CPP-NPA-NDF has withstood and defeated all the operational plans conceived by US imperialism and the AFP, from Ferdinand Marcos’ Nip in the Bud scheme, to Gloria Arroyo’s terror-driven Oplan Bantay Laya, Noynoy Aquino’s deceptive Oplan Bayanihan, and Duterte’s very own Oplan Kapayapaan. The NTF, like its predecessors, will fail miserably—and will ultimately inject new blood into the ranks of revolutionaries and Red fighters.

The attempts of the US-Duterte regime to crush the revolutionary movement are futile because the regime itself creates the favorable conditions for the advance of the national democratic revolution. The reactionary state, as instrument of the ruling class and US imperialism, continues to implement anti-people policies that deepen the political and economic crises. The mercenary troops, as protectors of the status quo, punish dissenters and terrorize struggling communities. All these fuel the people’s wrath against the ruling regime and prove the correctness of waging an armed revolution to erect a truly democratic people’s government.

Duterte’s dream of ending the CPP-NPA-NDF is mere foolishness. The Philippine revolutionary movement remains and grows despite decades of suppression by US imperialism and its local cohorts.

NDF-ST calls on revolutionaries, progressives and peace advocates from all walks of life to unite and confront the US-Duterte regime’s NTF with resolve and confidence in the triumph of the national struggle for genuine peace and democracy. Let us strengthen our bases, fortify our ranks and most importantly, contribute to the national effort to end the militarist US-Duterte regime. ###