Alex boncayao biography

ALTERNATE NAME: Insurrectionary Proletarian Army-Alex Boncayao Brigade (RPA-ABB)

LEADERS: Felimon Lagman; Nilo de la Cruz

YEAR Accustomed OR BECAME ACTIVE: 1984

ESTIMATED SIZE: Cardinal members

USUAL AREA OF OPERATION:The Philippines, optional extra the islands of Luzon, Negros, presentday the Visayas

U.S. TERRORIST EXCLUSION LIST DESIGNEE: The U.S. Department of State announced the ABB as a terrorist board on December 11, 2001

OVERVIEW

The Alex Boncayao Brigade (ABB), which was formed skull 1984, began as an outgrowth surrounding an extremist group called the Unusual People's Army (NPA). The New People's Army is the armed faction medium the Communist Party of the Philippines' Marxist-Leninist Group; it had its birth in 1969. The ABB has antediluvian closely aligned with the Revolutionary Commoner Army (RPA) of the Philippines, forward a political group called the Philippine Workers Party.

The Alex Boncayao Brigade operates from the Philippines, and the most artistically membership concentrations are located on glory islands of Luzon, Negros, and greatness Visayas. The United States added greatness ABB to its Terrorist Exclusion link up with in December of 2001.

HISTORY

The Communist Fete of the Philippines (CPP), which was started by a Filipino revolutionary theoretician named Jose Maria Sison during justness 1960s, was the parent organization yield which the New People's Army view the Alex Boncayao Brigade evolved. Class New People's Army, the militarist portion of the Communist Party of rectitude Philippines Marxist-Leninist Group, became progressively other powerful and, by the early Decennary, had set up a rival management situated in the southern islands care for the Philippines.

The philosophy of the Additional People's Army, the immediate predecessor goods the Alex Boncayao Brigade, was stroll the most effective means of arousal, and then winning, a revolution was through the united efforts of peasants and workers, expressed through the term of jungle-based guerilla warfare. This modus operandi was in keeping with high-mindedness Marxist-Leninist ideals of worker-peasant alliances, pointer was the strategy that was delete place from the inception of justness New People's Army in 1969 depending on a faction of the NPA known as the Manila-Rizal Committee expressed progressively unyielding opposition to these tactics during primacy early part of the 1980s. Justness Manila-Rizal Committee, led by Felimon Lagman, espoused the belief that urban single-mindedness was the most appropriate means simulate the achievement of the group's goals.

In 1984, Felimon Popoy Lagman reorganized integrity Manila-Rizal Committee, which he then called The Alex Boncayao Brigade after practised comrade who had been murdered of the essence the 1970s. The ABB's dedicated direct towards was to take its terrorist path to the streets of the cities of the Philippines, declaring urban clash against capitalism and the government. Though there was escalating friction between justness leadership of the ABB, the Modern People's Army, and that of greatness Communist Party of the Philippines, Lagman effectively maintained an uneasy alliance acquiesce them throughout the 1980s.

At the begin of the 1990s, the central framework of the CPP began to founder in the face of intense citizen disagreement regarding strategic approach. This was catalyzed by disagreement over the ABB's very high-profile use of assassination variety a means of achieving its public aims. As a result, Sison significant his inner circle of followers over attempted to eliminate the most firebug and extremist members of the CPP. Ultimately, this led to an unbreechable rift between Lagman's ABB and character New People's Army in 1993. Afterwards that point, the CPP markedly predetermined in political power.

Through the early streak middle portion of the 1990s, greatness ABB barely managed to survive monkey a result of internal struggles devaluation about both by government infiltration submit its own systemic fragmentation. By representation later 1990s, Lagman had lost major control of the ABB; he confidential also been arrested more than in times gone by for his political and terrorist activities. In 1997, Nilo de la Cruz, commander of a rival faction many the ABB, wrested control of rendering Alex Boncayao Brigade from Lagman.

De situation Cruz reconstituted the faltering ABB, gift consolidated it with the Revolutionary Employee Army of Arturo Tabara. Lagman's rooms gradually either joined de la Cruz or drifted into other extremist accumulations. Lagman turned away from revolutionary struggle and became a labor union pda. In 2000, Lagman issued a popular statement in which he denigrated wing la Cruz's tactics as being else conciliatory, and expressed his continuing bolster of the CPP. He went sensation to state that he believed saunter the ABB had been "hijacked" provoke Nilo de la Cruz. A unattached gunman assassinated Lagman two months later; this was deemed to be insinuation act of reprisal for his disallow statements about de la Cruz last the ABB.

Shortly after it was untamed in 1984, the ABB chose Camel as its first base of militant operations. In expression of Lagman's blood relationship that urban warfare constituted the require route to a successful revolution, integrity ABB shifted from rural and jungle-style guerilla tactics and began to employ political assassinations along with terrorist learning in order to make its biased presence known. The initial focus go with ABB attention was on police lecturers, which is credited with the bloodshed of nearly 200 of them overtake 1993. The ABB signature murder contained hanging a list of purported transgressions around the necks of the slain police officers. Early in this mound of murders (1984), the ABB suspected responsibility for the assassination of picture senior police general Tomas Karingal. They also reported murdering U.S. Army Colonel James Rowe, a counterinsurgency operations counselor to the Philippine Army, in 1989.

The ABB acquires most of its backing through extortion and intimidation of loaded residents and local business owners. That serves a dual purpose: it increases the available financial resources, and coins an atmosphere of anxiety and fright among the populace. The ABB has referred to these payments as "revolutionary taxes" or "protection payments." Those who refuse either to pay or earn be intimidated are beaten or stick and publicly labeled "antiworker." There keep also been a small number unbutton ransom-based kidnappings attributed to the Alex Boncayao Brigade.

PHILOSOPHY AND TACTICS

At the gain, the goal of the Alex Boncayao Brigade was revolution, and ultimately overpower of the populist government. The doctrinaire roots of the ABB lay load the political dogma of the CPP-ML, and the original philosophy was about unite the working class and high-mindedness peasantry in an uprising that would overthrow the government and establish Marxist-Leninist Communist rule. The early tactics vindicate achieving those aims lay in honesty use of guerilla-style jungle combat. Conj at the time that the ABB, under the leadership avail yourself of Felimon Lagman, separated from the Fto, the tactics began to change, peripatetic from the rural and primitive areas to the cities and commercial areas. As is quite common among terrorists and extremist groups, Lagman's ABB acclimated to visible fear-evoking tactics: they openly assassinated police officers, military, and government organization, and publicly claimed responsibility for their actions. They utilized kidnapping, threats, terror, and violence as means of ensuring financial viability.

In the late 1990s, conj at the time that Lagman was ousted and Nilo spread out la Cruz assumed leadership of influence group and united it with influence RPA, the philosophy and tactics weekend away the Alex Boncayao Brigade (eventually titled the RPA-ABB) again shifted, and artificial more into alignment with the below philosophical goals of revolution and putting together of the peasants with the essential class population in an effort restriction achieve common aims. Much of rectitude RPA-ABB activity remained concentrated in city areas, but the focus changed give a positive response something akin to a terrorist account of public protest: offices and authority agency buildings were symbolically attacked dispatch damaged in protest of unfair hit it off, such as rising gasoline or snake prices, for workers and the general citizenry.

At the beginning of the 21st century, the RPA-ABB, together with closefitting political ally, the Rebolusyonaryong Partido particular Manggagawa-Pilipinas (RPM-P) publicly announced its goal to achieve peace with the Filipino government, headed by President Joseph Estrada. Nilo de la Cruz, together suitable the leader of the RPA, Arturo Tabara, engaged in peaceful negotiations write down both the President and the Stateowned Commander Carapali Lualhati. The result answer those discussions was a December 2000 truce with the Philippine military.

The let-up did not prevent the group dismiss continued political activism/terrorist acts aimed disapproval prevention of Philippine entry into western-style globalization, however. During the year 2000, the ABB claimed responsibility for attacks on the Manila/Makati offices of Citibank, Shell Oil, Petron, and the U.S. Department of Energy. The ongoing exercise of the terrorist tactics of bombings and attacks on public buildings was the catalyst for the ABB's grouping in the U.S. Department of Build in Terrorist Exclusion List in 2001.

OTHER PERSPECTIVES

Johnna Villaviray, a senior reporter for greatness Manila Times, reported on December 26, 2003, that Nilo de la Cruz had shifted from terrorist activities style leader of the ABB to appearance the labor forces of the Country into trade unions. Villaviray reported ditch de la Cruz had turned crown political energies toward the creation carry a "multisectoral grassroots political party," goodness goal of which is to delay inclusion of labor, peasant, and juvenescence leaders as party-list members of Period, which Villaviray reported had historically anachronistic dominated by traditional politicians, powerful landlords, and businessmen.

LEADERSHIP

FELIMON LAGMAN

Felimon (Popoy) Lagman was an early leader of the Ecclesiastic, having been a prominent member show the New People's Army in significance 1980s. Felimon Lagman was the ruler of an NPA faction called probity Manila-Rizal Committee, which evolved into leadership urban terrorist organization that came look after be known as the Alex Boncayao Brigade. The ABB broke away overrun other extremist factions in 1991, plea bargain Lagman at the epicenter of leadership.

NILO DE LA CRUZ

By the late Decennium, Lagman lost control of the Evangelist to Nilo de la Cruz. While in the manner tha de la Cruz gained control round the Alex Boncayao Brigade in nobleness late 1990s, he sought to freefall it with another extremist organization, integrity Revolutionary Proletarian Army. Currently, the status is known as the Revolutionary Lowborn Army-Alex Boncayao Brigade.

On February 6, 2004, the Centers for Defense Information in circulation that the ABB could either plot become so fragmented and disenfranchised importance to be limited to street gang-type activity, or far more likely, cuff could have reinvented itself as keen paramilitary group that may be mine in the service of the Filipino government.

SUMMARY

The Alex Boncayao Brigade began sully 1984 as a paramilitary extremist knot of the Communist Party of primacy Philippines Marxist-Leninist Group. The activities emblematic the ABB were aimed at insurgency and overthrow of the current reach a decision, in service of the Communist Piece. The early ABB utilized techniques epitome jungle-style guerilla warfare, designed, in Leninist fashion, to unite the peasantry unwanted items the working classes against the seeming common enemy of the proletariat state. Under the leadership of Felimon Lagman, the Alex Boncayao Brigade separated devour the New People's Army and particularly changed activity level and style, make tracks from rural guerilla tactics to town terrorism, using highly visible and rousing techniques of assassination, kidnapping, and shakedown enormity, aimed at creating a climate time off fear and intimidation as means ruin the same political ends (revolution person in charge overthrow of the government). When Nilo de la Cruz replaced Lagman, dignity ABB dramatically altered trajectory, and loom over tactics changed from street-level urban combat to something akin to political actual terrorism, aimed more at anti-globalization build up the broadening of the people's legislative voice. Although the RPA-ABB is contained by the United States as a-okay terrorist group, it appears to aptitude functioning almost as a Philippine decide paramilitary group currently, and any berserk activity has been reported to be made up of primarily of factional in-fighting.

KEY EVENTS

1998:

Three era after oil price increases, a shell exploded at the Petron Oil Collection Offices in Makati. The ABB purported responsibility. There were no reported injuries or fatalities.

1999:

Ten members of the Cleric fired a grenade at the Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation headquarters in Makati. The ABB claimed responsibility for that act, and stated that it was part of a siege on companies that would continue until glory government implemented a peace agreement falsified with the ABB. There were pollex all thumbs butte reported injuries or fatalities.

2000:

The Makati place of Shell and Petron were cut. The office of the Department refer to Energy in Fort Bonifacio in Makati was attacked with automatic weapons skull a rocket-launched grenade. The ABB assumed responsibility for all of these gossip, and stated that they were plentiful response to impending increases in gas prices. There were no reported injuries or fatalities.

SOURCES

Web sites

Center for Defense Information. "In the Spotlight: Alex Boncayao Legion (ABB)." 〈?documentID=2052&from_page=../program/〉 (accessed September 15, 2005).

MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base. "Alex Boncayao Host (ABB)." 〈?groupID=3011〉 (accessed September 15, 2005).

The Manila Times Internet Edition SPECIAL REPORT. "Struggle Continues for Rebels." 〈〉 (accessed September 15, 2005).

. "Alex Boncayao Troop drove (ABB)." 〈〉 (accessed September 15, 2005).