THE National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac) said that the battle against communist insurgency has shifted to the cities, with the National Capital Region (NCR) now emerging as the ground zero of the Communist Party of the Philippines’ propaganda operations.
In a statement, NTF-Elcac Executive Director Ernesto Torres Jr. said that the NCR has long been a critical theater in the government’s campaign against the CPP-NPA-NDF, noting that its role has become even more pronounced as armed conflict in rural areas continues to weaken.
“As the political, economic, and information hub of the country, NCR is deliberately targeted as a primary battleground for propaganda and psychological operations,” Torres said, pointing to the extensive use of digital platforms and social media ecosystems to sow distrust, distort realities, and agitate the public against the government.
“Metro Manila is now a critical front in this struggle, and how we defend the truth here will shape peace and stability not only in the capital, but across the nation,” he added.
Torres said the recent surge of coordinated online activity — largely driven by NCR-based front organizations — reflected a strategic recalibration by the communist movement. He said that with diminished influence, recruitment, and mass support in the regions, these groups were now attempting to manufacture relevance in the urban information space and project artificial influence outward.
“This is not a display of strength. It is a manifestation of desperation,” Torres said. He emphasized that the information domain has become a decisive front in the post-conflict phase, warning that terrorist-grooming, disinformation, misinformation, hate speech, and calculated falsehoods posed a direct threat to hard-earned peace gains.
“Countering these narratives is no longer optional — it is a shared responsibility,” he said, calling on both the public and government peace communicators to take an active role in defending the truth. “We are called upon not merely to communicate, but to become deliberate communicators of peace, grounded in truth, credibility, and public service,” he added.
Torres said that communication efforts were anchored on the National Action Plan on Unity, Peace, and Development 2025–2028, which adopts a whole-of-nation and whole-of-society approach to addressing the root causes of armed conflict, sustaining peace gains, and strengthening community resilience.
Within this framework, he outlined three key guidance points for the Strategic Communication Cluster: unifying the regional peace constituency through consistent values-driven messaging; proactively building narratives that highlight peace dividends, best practices, and concrete results of government programs; and intensifying youth-centered digital engagement in partnership with schools, universities, and youth organizations.Torres said these efforts were critical in promoting peace-oriented values, countering radicalization, and empowering young Filipinos as advocates for unity, responsible citizenship, and nation-building.
He then called for full and unequivocal commitment from the public and all government peace communicators, stressing that Metro Manila was now a critical front in shaping the national narrative.
“How we defend the truth in NCR will shape peace and stability not only in the capital, but across the nation,” Torres said.
