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Alex Boncayao Brigade

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Alex Boncayao Brigade
Also known asABB
LeaderFilemon Lagman
Nilo dela Cruz
Foundation1984
Dissolved2000
Split fromNew People's Army
CountryPhilippines
MotivesProletarian revolution
Active regionsLuzon,Visayas
IdeologyMarxism–Leninism
Political positionFar-left
Size500[1]

TheAlex Boncayao Brigade(abbreviated asABB;also known as theSparrow Unit)[2]was theurbanassassinationunit of theNew People's Army,the armed wing of theCommunist Party of the Philippines.Organized in 1984, the unit broke away from the New People's Army as a consequence of a split in ideology during the 1990s.[3][4]In 1997, the Alex Boncayao Brigade allied itself with theRevolutionary Proletarian Army,the armed wing of theRevolutionary Workers' Party.[5][6]

Background

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Main article:Communist rebellion in the Philippines

The Alex Boncayao Brigade was established in May 1984 and was named after a labor leader killed byPhilippine governmentsecurity forces the year before. The brigade became especially active after the departure of then-PresidentFerdinand Marcosas a consequence of thePeople Power Revolution,and during the term of PresidentCorazon Aquino.

Main article:Second Great Rectification Movement

In 1993,Filemon Lagmanand severalcadreof the Manila-Rizal regional committee of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) broke away from the mainstream group, taking the Alex Boncayao Brigade with them. In a 1993 interview, Nilo Dela Cruz stated that the organization had 100 members.[7]He went on to explain that the group was striving to improve their knowledge of remote controlled explosives.[7]He also mentioned that other than Leon's Red Scorpion's, the military had not been able to capture a single Brigade member.[7]Alfredo de Leon had broken away from the Brigade in 1991, and 14 Red Scorpion members were killed not long after in 2002.[7]

In 1994, Lagman was arrested inQuezon City,putting a damper on the brigade's activities. The ABB itself, headed by Nilo dela Cruz, would eventually split from Lagman in 1997 after an internal rift.[8]Lagman would later give up the armed struggle and become alabor unionorganizer. He was assassinated in 2000, allegedly by members of his former revolutionary group.

Nilo dela Cruz, using the alias "Sergio Romero", was arrested that same year inBulacanafter crashing his car while being pursued by government intelligence agents. It would later be revealed that Dela Cruz had allied the ABB with the Revolutionary Proletarian Army, forming theRevolutionary Proletarian Army – Alex Boncayao Brigade.[3]This was not the first time Dela Cruz had been arrested, or used an alias; in the 1970s he had been detained in the Youth Rehabilitation Center atFort Bonifaciounder the alias "Mario Saldaña". He had kept a low profile then and his true identity was never discovered.[9]In 2003 it was reported that Dela Cruz had "shifted from terrorist activities as leader of the ABB to organizing the labor forces of the Philippines into trade unions".[6]

Activities

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The Alex Boncayao Brigade is credited with the assassinations of nearly 200police officersfrom 1984 until 1993.[6]In 1984, the ABB claimed responsibility for the assassination of Police GeneralTomas Karingal,Chief of theQuezon CityPolice Department. In 1989, they claimed responsibility for the assassination ofUnited States ArmyColonelJames N. Rowe,who was serving as an adviser to thePhilippine Army.[6]In 1996, the ABB also claimed responsibility for the assassination ofPhilippine ConstabularyLt. Col. Rolando Abadilla, a former chief of theMetrocom Intelligence and Security Groupduring the Marcos dictatorship. As proof of the deed, they turned over Abadilla's wristwatch to a Catholic priest, Fr. Robert Reyes.[10][11]In 2000, the group claimed responsibility for attacks against theDepartment of Energyin Manila and Shell Oil offices in the central Philippines in protest against rising oil prices.[1]Consequently, theUS governmentadded the ABB to itsPatriot Act Terrorist Exclusion List[12]in 2001.[1]

Terrorist incidents attributed to the Alex Boncayao Brigade in the Global Terrorism Database show that the majority of their acts are armed assault and assassinations.[13]Their remaining acts are bombings, explosions and facility or infrastructure assault. During these acts, the ABB’s weapons of choice during much of the actions committed was that of the use of firearms and explosives.[13]

Throughout these activities, most of the group’s funds came from the “extortion and intimidation” of wealthy citizens and successful business owners.[14]The group called these funds “revolutionary taxes” or “protection payments”.[14]

Peace talks

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In 2000, Nilo dela Cruz of the ABB and Arturo Tabara, leader of the Revolutionary Proletarian Army, announced their intention to engage in peace talks with the government ofJoseph Estrada;this resulted in a truce with the Philippine Army.[6][5]On December 6, 2000, a peace agreement was signed by the Republic of the Philippines and RPMP/RPA/ABB with the foundation of shared desire for a peaceful settlement of the armed conflict.[15]This in turn prompted a vehement condemnation from Filemon Lagman; in apress releasehe branded Tabara and Dela Cruz "scoundrels masquerading as revolutionaries".[16]Due to the Brigade’s negotiations with the government, the New People’s Army allegedly targeted their former partner.[17][better source needed]In 2002, a “Clarification Document” was signed and agreed upon in response to the issues raised on the substance within the 2000 agreement.[15]The agreement signed is the model used for the 2019 peace talks between the government and localCPP–NPA–NDFwings.[18]

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The ABB was a popular subject to depict in Filipino films during the 1980s, and was often referred to as the Sparrow Unit. Some examples includeTarget: Sparrow Unit(1987),Ambush(1988),Patrolman(1988), andAlex Boncayao Brigade(1989).

See also

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References

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  1. ^abc"Background Information on Other Terrorist Groups"(PDF).United States Department of State.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on March 26, 2023.RetrievedNovember 3,2017.
  2. ^Saracho, Joel (April 27, 1987)."The men they call Sparrows".Manila Standard.Standard Publications, Inc. p. 2. Archived fromthe originalon March 5, 2023.RetrievedNovember 26,2020....[T]he Alex Boncayao Brigade (ABB), the urban guerilla [sic] unit of the New People's Army that the military has labeled the Sparrow Unit.
  3. ^abLeifer, Michael (2013).Dictionary of the Modern Politics of Southeast Asia.Routledge.p. 51.ISBN978-1135129453.
  4. ^Leifer, Michael (May 13, 2013).Dictionary of the Modern Politics of Southeast Asia.Routledge.ISBN9781135129453.
  5. ^abPeace Talk Philippines (November 28, 2012)."Background of the GPH and RPMP/RPA/ABB Peace Process".Archived fromthe originalon March 27, 2023.RetrievedNovember 3,2017.
  6. ^abcde"Alex Boncayao Brigade (ABB)".Thomson Gale.Archived fromthe originalon May 15, 2023.RetrievedNovember 3,2017.
  7. ^abcdTiglao, Rigoberto (August 26, 1993). "Philippines: Double Insurgent – Rebel Communist Military Leader Outlines Policy".Far Eastern Economic Review.156.ProQuest208217404.
  8. ^Santuario III, Edmundo."A 'Dirty War' And The Death Of Popoy Lagman".Archived fromthe originalon August 4, 2022.RetrievedNovember 3,2017.
  9. ^Hilario, Ernesto M. (March 28, 2014)."The NPA, a tunnel, and a prison escape plot".Rappler.Archived fromthe originalon February 4, 2023.RetrievedNovember 3,2017.
  10. ^Aning, Jerome (December 29, 2012)."Aquino pardons 8 inmates but not 'Abadilla 5'".Philippine Daily Inquirer.Archived fromthe originalon March 27, 2023.RetrievedNovember 3,2017.
  11. ^Reyes, Robert (May 6, 2008)."PHILIPPINES: Christmas with a Dead Man's Watch".Asian Human Rights Watch. Archived fromthe originalon March 27, 2023.RetrievedNovember 3,2017.
  12. ^"Terrorist Exclusion List".United States Department of State.Archived fromthe originalon March 27, 2023.RetrievedNovember 3,2017.
  13. ^ab"Search Results: Alex Boncayao Brigade".Global Terrorism Database.Archivedfrom the original on July 7, 2023.RetrievedApril 11,2019.
  14. ^ab"Alex Boncayao Brigade (ABB) | Encyclopedia.com".www.encyclopedia.com.Archived fromthe originalon February 28, 2019.RetrievedMay 11,2019.
  15. ^ab"RPMP/RPA-ABB".PEACE TALK PHILIPPINES.November 28, 2012. Archived fromthe originalon March 27, 2023.RetrievedMay 11,2019.
  16. ^Lagman, Popoy (December 27, 1999)."Tabara and Dela Cruz: Scoundrels Masquerading as Revolutionaries".Archived fromthe originalon April 1, 2023.RetrievedNovember 4,2017.
  17. ^"Alex Boncayao Brigade (ABB)".terroristprofiles.December 14, 2011. Archived fromthe originalon April 22, 2019.RetrievedMay 11,2019.
  18. ^"Agreement with RPM-P/RPA-ABB-TPG model for localized peace talks".Philippine News Agency.March 27, 2019. Archived fromthe originalon March 29, 2023.RetrievedMarch 30,2019.
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