New People's Army

New People's Army
Bagong Hukbong Bayan
Logo of the New People's Army
Leader(s)	Jose Maria Sison
Dates of operation	March 29, 1969 (1969-03-29)
Motives	Proletarian revolution, National Democratic Revolution
Active region(s)	Philippines
Ideology	Marxism–Leninism–Maoism
Notable attacks	U.S. Army Colonel James N. Rowe assassination
Status	Designated as Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S. State Department Designated as terrorist group by EU Common Foreign and Security Policy
Size	5,000

The New People's Army (NPA) (Filipino: Bagong Hukbong Bayan) is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). It was formed and founded by Bernabe Buscayno A.K.A. "Commander Dante" on March 29, 1969. The Maoist NPA conducts its armed guerrilla struggle based on the strategical line of "protracted people's war". The Philippine Army estimated the NPA's strength at 3,200 fighters at the end of 2015.

The NPA collects "revolutionary taxes", mostly from businesses, in the areas where it operates. The Communist Party of the Philippines refers to the NPA as "the tax enforcement agency of the people's revolutionary government". In 2014, Lieutenant Colonel Ramon Zagala, speaking for the Armed Forces of the Philippines said "[the communist rebels] have lost their ideological mooring and now engaged in extortion [activities]."

The NPA is designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S. State Department and as a terrorist group by the EU Common Foreign and Security Policy. The Government of the Philippines, however, delisted the NPA as a terrorist organization in 2011 and has resumed preliminary peace talks pending formal negotiations with the NPA's parent political organization, the CPP. There have been reports of the Chinese government shipping arms to the NPA. Due to this, the NPA have an unknown number of Type 56 assault rifles. The NPA has also received support from North Korea as well as former members from the defunct Communist Party of Malaya(CPM).