Human Rights Hypocrisy: NTF-ELCAC Condemns CPP-NPA’s Brutal Reality Behind the Propaganda

December 10, 2025

Human rights are fundamental values belonging to every Filipino, never tools for propaganda or manipulation.

On International Human Rights Day, the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) reaffirms that human rights flourish only in communities that are safe, open, and free – free from fear, deception, and violence. This vision guides our daily mandate.

Our commitment is action, not rhetoric. From countering child recruitment and enabling rebel reintegration, to supporting local development and strengthening democratic participation, the NTF-ELCAC upholds human rights at every level. Our work, anchored in dignity, safety, and accountability, is embedded in the National Action Plan for Unity, Peace, and Development – where human rights are policy, measurable commitment, and lived reality.

Yet, we must confront a stark hypocrisy. While the CPP-NPA-NDF and its front organizations loudly accuse the government of “human rights abuses,” they systematically violate the most basic rights. They conveniently ignore their own record: killings, forced recruitment, child soldiering, and internal purges.

Their disinformation playbook continues. As we counter their desperate White Area operations, they exploit human rights language to sanitize atrocities and erode trust in democracy. The loudest accusers are often the guiltiest offenders.

Legal front organizations decry “red-tagging” while maintaining deafening silence on the NPA’s practice of “spy-tagging” – the summary execution of civilians, farmers, indigenous peoples, and even former rebels without evidence or due process. This silence is not neutrality; it is complicity.

Human rights cannot be selective. They cannot be invoked only when convenient or weaponized to shield perpetrators. The NPA’s documented killings – including recent “spy-tagging” executions – are not mere statistics; they represent shattered families and communities terrorized into silence.

The NTF-ELCAC stands firm: Child recruitment, extortion, coercion, university recruitment for armed violence, purges, and executions by the NPA are unequivocal human rights violations. So is silence in the face of these crimes.

We call on all sectors – academe, youth, civil society, faith groups, LGUs, and media – to reject the normalization of NPA-style executions and ideological violence. Defend human rights with truth, not propaganda.

Human rights are non-negotiable values for every Filipino. The NTF-ELCAC remains unwavering in upholding these rights, confronting those who violate them while pretending to be their champions.

Tuloy ang laban para sa karapatan sa katotohanan. Tuloy ang laban para sa karapatan sa kapayapaan at kaunlaran.

USec Ernesto C Torres Jr

Executive Director, NTF ELCAC