THE Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) will have a hard time finding a replacement for its founding chairman, Jose Ma. Sison, who died last Friday in the Netherlands where he had been on exile since 1987.
“They will have difficulty to find a leader like Professor Sison,” said AFP spokesman Col. Medel Aguilar.
“His intelligence, his competence cannot be equaled by the remaining leaders of the party,” he added.
Sison, 83, founded the CPP on Dec. 26, 1968. He died after a two-week hospital confinement, the CPP earlier has said, describing him as the “greatest Filipino of the past century” and “teacher and guiding light,” among others.
Aguilar said the CPP, without a leader like Sison, may crumble.
“I think the problem is within organization, to find a new leader of his quality,” said Aguilar, stressing Sison’s death will further weaken the communist movement.
“None of the remaining leaders, because many of them have been already neutralized, are of the same quality as Sison. So that’s a big problem of the underground organization,” said Aguilar.
Aguilar said Sison served as ex-officio chairman of the CPP and still “exercised” control of the party prior to his death. “He was still an inspiration to the underground organization,” he said.
If CPP does not find a leader like Sison, Aguilar said, “They organization will lose its sense of purpose and direction.”
“This can lead to demoralization among members, disintegration and hopefully the organization will collapse so that this armed struggle (of the communists) will finally end,” said Aguilar.
On the CPP’s order for its armed wing, the New People’s Army, to launch attacks against government troops to mark their 54th anniversary on December 26, Aguilar said, “They are so irresponsible and reckless in their statement by completely disregarding what our peaceful communities want and deserve — peace.”
The CPP has declared a 10-day mourning and said it was holding the celebration of this year’s CPP anniversary in honor of Sison. It said NPA rebels should stand in formation at the break of dawn of December 26 and “silently perform a 21-gun salute” to give the highest tribute and farewell to Sison.
“We have not monitored any threat to cause unnecessary fear and anxiety among our people, only the irresponsible and reckless statement of the CPP who cannot accept strategic defeat,” said Aguilar.
The Armed Forces said the NPA has around 2,100 fighters as of last month, from a peak of at least 20,000 in the late 80s.
Sison was declared a terrorist by the Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC) last year. He served as chief political consultant of the National Democratic Front that represented the CPP and the NPA in peace talks with the government.
The NDF, CPP and NPA had been declared as terrorist organizations by the ATC.
Peace adviser Carlito Galvez Jr. on Sunday said Sison’s death marks the end of an era “largely defined by armed hostilities” and asked CPP members to abandon their armed struggle.
