Alex Boncayao Brigade

The Alex Boncayao Brigade (abbreviated as ABB; also known as the Sparrow Unit)[2] was the urban assassination unit of the New People's Army, the armed wing of the Communist 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 the Revolutionary Proletarian Army, the armed wing of the Revolutionary Workers' Party.[5][6]

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
Size500[1]

Background
Main article: CPP-NPA-NDF rebellion

The Alex Boncayao Brigade was established in May 1984 and was named after a labor leader killed by Philippine government security forces the year before. The brigade became especially active after the departure of then-President Ferdinand Marcos as a consequence of the People Power Revolution, and during the term of President Corazon Aquino.

Main article: Second Great Rectification Movement

In 1993, Filemon Lagman and several cadre of 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 in Quezon 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 a labor union organizer. 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 in Bulacan after 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 the Revolutionary 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 at Fort Bonifacio under 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

The Alex Boncayao Brigade is credited with the assassinations of nearly 200 police officers from 1984 until 1993.[6] In 1984, the ABB claimed responsibility for the assassination of Police General Tomas Karingal, a former Chief of the Quezon City Police Department. In 1989, they claimed responsibility for the assassination of United States Army Colonel James N. Rowe, an adviser to the Philippine Army.[6] In 1996, the ABB also claimed responsibility for the assassination of Philippine Constabulary Lt. Col. Rolando Abadilla, a former chief of the Metrocom Intelligence and Security Group. As proof of the deed, they turned over the late Abadilla's wristwatch to a Catholic priest, Fr. Robert Reyes.[10][11] In 2000, the group proudly claimed responsibility for attacks against the Department of Energy in Manila and Shell Oil offices in the central Philippines. They claimed to have done this to protest the rising oil prices that were currently arising.[12] Consequently, the US government added the ABB to its Patriot Act Terrorist Exclusion List[13] 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.[14] Their remaining acts are bombings, explosions and facility/ 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.[14]

Throughout these activities, most of the group’s funds came from the “extortion and intimidation” of wealthy citizens and successful business owners.[15] The group called these funds “revolutionary taxes” or “protection payments”.[15]

Peace talks

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 of Joseph 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.[16] This in turn prompted a vehement condemnation from Filemon Lagman; in a press release he branded Tabara and Dela Cruz "scoundrels masquerading as revolutionaries".[17] Due to the Brigade’s negotiations with the government, the New People’s Army has targeted their former partner.[18] In 2002, a “Clarification Document” was signed and agreed upon in response to the issues raised on the substance within the 2000 agreement.[19] The agreement signed is the model used for the 2019 peace talks between the government and local CPP–NPA–NDF wings.[20]

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 include Target: Sparrow Unit (1987), Ambush (1988), Patrolman (1988), and Alex Boncayao Brigade (1989).

References
  1. "Background Information on Other Terrorist Groups" (PDF). United States Department of State. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
  2. Saracho, Joel (April 27, 1987). "The men they call Sparrows". Manila Standard. Standard Publications, Inc. p. 2. Retrieved November 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. Leifer, Michael (2013). Dictionary of the Modern Politics of Southeast Asia. Routledge. p. 51. ISBN 978-1135129453.
  4. Leifer, Michael (May 13, 2013). Dictionary of the Modern Politics of Southeast Asia. Routledge. ISBN 9781135129453.
  5. Peace Talk Philippines. "Background of the GPH and RPMP/RPA/ABB Peace Process". Retrieved November 3, 2017.
  6. "Alex Boncayao Brigade (ABB)". Thomson Gale. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
  7. Tiglao, Rigoberto (August 26, 1993). "Philippines: Double Insurgent – Rebel Communist Military Leader Outlines Policy". Far Eastern Economic Review. 156. ProQuest 208217404.
  8. Santuario III, Edmundo. "A 'Dirty War' And The Death Of Popoy Lagman". Retrieved November 3, 2017.
  9. Hilario, Ernesto M. (March 28, 2014). "The NPA, a tunnel, and a prison escape plot". Rappler. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
  10. Aning, Jerome (December 29, 2012). "Aquino pardons 8 inmates but not 'Abadilla 5'". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
  11. Reyes, Robert (May 6, 2008). "PHILIPPINES: Christmas with a Dead Man's Watch". Asian Human Rights Watch. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
  12. "Background Information on Other Terrorist Groups: Alex Boncayo Brigade (ABB)" (PDF). State.gov. 2012. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  13. "Terrorist Exclusion List". United States Department of State. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
  14. "Search Results: Alex Boncayao Brigade". Global Terrorism Database. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
  15. "Alex Boncayao Brigade (ABB) | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
  16. "RPMP/RPA-ABB". PEACE TALK PHILIPPINES. November 28, 2012. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
  17. Lagman, Popoy (December 27, 1999). "Tabara and Dela Cruz: Scoundrels Masquerading as Revolutionaries". Retrieved November 4, 2017.
  18. "Alex Boncayao Brigade (ABB)". terroristprofiles. December 14, 2011. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
  19. "RPMP/RPA-ABB". PEACE TALK PHILIPPINES. November 28, 2012. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
  20. "Agreement with RPM-P/RPA-ABB-TPG model for localized peace talks". Philippine News Agency. March 27, 2019. Retrieved March 30, 2019.
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