The history of communist armed conflicts in the Philippines is closely related to the history of

Communism in the Philippines Communism in the Philippines emerged in the first half of the 20th century during the American Colonial Era of the Philippines. Communist movements originated in labor unions and peasant groups. The communist movement has had multiple periods of ...

, with various armed conflict linked to the armed wings of the various communist organizations that have evolved since 1930. The two largest conflicts have been the

Hukbalahap Rebellion The Hukbalahap Rebellion was a rebellion staged by former Hukbalahap or ''Hukbo ng Bayan Laban sa Hapon'' (People's Army against the Japanese) soldiers against the Philippine government. It started during the Japanese occupation of the Philippin ...

of 1942–1954, which was initiated by the

Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas The Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas-1930 (PKP-1930), also known as the Philippine Communist Party, is a communist party in the Philippines that was established on November 7, 1930. It uses the aforementioned appellation in order to distinguish i ...

of 1930 (PKP-1930) and its armed group the Hukbalahap (HMB) (''Hukbong Mapagpalaya ng Bayan,'' or "People's Liberation Army"), and the ongoing rebellion of the

New People's Army The New People's Army ( fil, Bagong Hukbong Bayan), abbreviated NPA or BHB, is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), based primarily in the Philippine countryside. It acts as the CPP's principal organization, aimi ...

, which began in 1969 under the auspices of the

Communist Party of the Philippines The Communist Party of the Philippines ( fil, Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas) is a far-left, Marxist-Leninist-Maoist revolutionary organization and communist party in the Philippines, formed by Jose Maria Sison on 26 December 1968. It is desi ...

. The latter conflict was still in its infancy in 1972 when

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. ( , , ; September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, dictator, and kleptocrat who was the 10th president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled under martial ...

proclaimed

Martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...

, but expanded significantly as even the moderate opposition against Marcos was radicalized. A month after Marcos was ousted through the broad-based nonviolent

People Power Revolution The People Power Revolution, also known as the EDSA Revolution or the February Revolution, was a series of popular Demonstration (people), demonstrations in the Philippines, mostly in Metro Manila, from February 22 to 25, 1986. There was a ...

of February 1986, the unit led by

Conrado Balweg Conrado Balweg was a former Filipino Catholic priest and rebel who was the founder of the Cordillera People’s Liberation Army, a militant group which advocated autonomy for the Cordillera region in the Philippines. He was also known by the '' ...

formed a splinter group known as the

Cordillera People's Liberation Army The Cordillera People's Liberation Army (CPLA) was a militant organization based in the Cordillera region in the Philippines founded by Conrado Balweg. Formation In 1986, the CPLA broke away from the communist New People's Army (NPA), criticiz ...

, whose conflict with the Philippine government formally ended with the closure of peace talks in 2011. 1992 saw what the CPP refers to as the

Second Great Rectification Movement The Second Great Rectification Movement refers to a 1992 ideological campaign initiated by the leadership of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) wherein an effort was made to "identify, repudiate and rectify the errors of urban insurrec ...

, an effort whose stated intent was to "identify, repudiate and rectify the errors of

urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

insurrectionism Insurrectionary anarchism is a revolutionary theory and tendency within the anarchist movement that emphasizes insurrection as a revolutionary practice. It is critical of formal organizations such as labor unions and federations that are based ...

, premature big formations of the

and anti-

infiltration Infiltration may refer to: Science, medicine, and engineering *Infiltration (hydrology), downward movement of water into soil *Infiltration (HVAC), a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning term for air leakage into buildings *Infiltration (me ...

hysteria". This resulted in the once monolithic

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

communist party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

fragmenting into at least 13 factions during the 1990s, the most notable being: the alliance that was the Revolutionary Workers' Party (RPM-P), the

Revolutionary Proletarian Army The Revolutionary Proletarian Army, also known by the acronym RPA, was the military wing of the Revolutionary Workers' Party (Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawà ng Pilipinas) (RPM-P), a communist party that split from the Communist Party o ...

(RPA), and the

Alex Boncayao Brigade The Alex Boncayao Brigade (abbreviated as ABB; also known as the Sparrow Unit) was the urban assassination unit of the New People's Army, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines. Organized in 1984, the unit broke away from the ...

(ABB); the Revolutionary People's Army – Mindanao (RPA-M), and the Rebolusyonaryong Hukbong Bayan (RHB, Revolutionary People's Army) of the Marxist-Leninist Party of the Philippines (MLPP).

Hukbalahap Rebellion

The Hukbalahap Rebellion began in 1942 when the

of 1930 (PKP-1930) formed an armed group called the ''Hukbo ng Bayan Laban sa Hapon'' (People's Army against the Japanese) to fight against the

Japanese occupation of the Philippines The Japanese occupation of the Philippines (Filipino: ''Pananakop ng mga Japones sa Filipinas''; ja, 日本のフィリピン占領, Nihon no Firipin Senryō) occurred between 1942 and 1945, when Imperial Japan occupied the Commonwealth of the ...

during World War II. At the end of the war in 1946, the PKP-1930 reconstituted the Hukbalahap as the ''Hukbong Mapagpalaya ng Bayan'' ("Peoples' Liberation Army"), transforming it into the party's armed wing. This conflict ended in 1954 under the presidency of

Ramon Magsaysay Ramon del Fierro Magsaysay Sr. (August 31, 1907 – March 17, 1957) was a Filipino statesman who served as the seventh president of the Philippines, from December 30, 1953, until his death in an aircraft disaster on March 17, 1957. An automo ...

New People's Army Rebellion

The ongoing rebellion of the

began in 1969 under the auspices of the

, which had been formed the previous year. This conflict was still in its infancy in 1972 when

proclaimed

, but expanded significantly as even the moderate opposition against Marcos was radicalized. The Communist Party of the Philippines went through a series of setbacks and internal conflicts in after the ouster of Ferdinand Marcos in 1986, including the breaking away of the

of former priest

. In 1992 the CPP went through what it calls the

, whose stated intent was to "identify, repudiate and rectify the errors of

, premature big formations of the

and anti-

hysteria". This resulted in the split of the party into "Re-affirmist" and "Rejectionist" groups, resulting in the formation of at least 13 factions during the 1990s.

Cordillera People's Liberation Army conflict

A month after Marcos was ousted through the broad-based nonviolent

of February 1986, the unit led by

formed a splinter group known as the

. The group began peace talks with the Philippine government later that year with the landmark

Mount Data Peace Accord The Mount Data Peace Accord is a peace deal signed between the government of the Philippines and the Cordillera People's Liberation Army on September 13, 1986, ending hostilities due to the latter's campaign for greater autonomy for the Cordille ...

of September 13, 1986. The conflict formally ended with the closure of peace talks in 2011.

Revolutionary Proletarian Army – Alex Boncayao Brigade conflict

The Revolutionary Workers' Party (Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawà ng Pilipinas) (RPM-P) and its military wing, the

, split from the

in 1996, as a result of the Second Great Rectification Movement. The

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila (often shortened as Metro Manila; fil, Kalakhang Maynila), officially the National Capital Region (NCR; fil, link=no, Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), is the capital region, seat of government and one of three List of metrop ...

-based

assassination Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...

unit of the

, known as the

(ABB; also known as the Sparrow Unit), also broke away from the New People's Army, and allied itself with the RPM-P and RPA in 1997. In 1999, the group began peace negotiations with the government, leading to a peace deal which was signed in 2000.

Marxist–Leninist Party of the Philippines armed conflict

Another conflict is with the Rebolusyonaryong Hukbong Bayan of the

Marxist–Leninist Party of the Philippines The Marxist–Leninist Party of the Philippines ( tl, Partido Marxista–Leninista ng Pilipinas) is a communist party in the Philippines with an ongoing conflict with the Philippine government through its armed wing, the Rebolusyonaryong Hukbong ...

(MLPP–RHB), which operates mostly in Central Luzon and often has clashes with the rival

References

{{Post-Cold War Asian conflicts 20th-century conflicts 21st-century conflicts Military history of the Philippines History of the Philippines (1965–1986) History of the Philippines (1986–present) Wars involving the Philippines Proxy wars