Alex Boncayao Brigade
The Alex Boncayao Brigade (ABB) is a terrorist group that appears in the Philippines with kidnapping, extortion and contract killings. It split off from the terrorist " New People's Army " (NPA), the Communist Party of the Philippines , which was banned under Marcos . ABB fighters murdered more than 100 people, including a colonel in the US Army (1989).
Name and story
The Alex Boncayao Brigade emerged from the communist New People's Army and named after a union leader who was killed in 1983 by security forces in the Philippines. The brigade was founded in May 1984 when Ferdinand Marcos ruled under martial law and had lost his legitimacy with the murder of opposition leader Benigno Aquino .
The brigade was particularly active in the late 1980s after Marcos resigned and lost his place as president to Corazon Aquino . This change led to a substantial drying up of aid from the communist movement to the brigade, which then changed its strategy and carried out armed attacks on government officials, police officers and US military advisers. Its activities slowed down in the 1990s , also because of an ideological split within the communist force, which sparked internal tensions. One faction was led by José María Sison , who was in exile in the Netherlands and who originally founded the movement. The other faction was under the leadership of Felimon Lagman , the leader of the Manila Wing and who also commanded the Alex Boncayao Brigade.
The brigade resumed its terrorist attacks in early 1994, but Lagmán was arrested in Quezón in May 1994 , likely after treason. From the end of 1995 attacks were carried out again under the new leader Sergio Romero; since then the authorities suspect less political than more criminal background.
In April 2007, the Alex Boncayao Brigade broke up and split into two separate factions. One is led by Nilo de la Cruz , the other by Veronica Tabara . The respective team strengths are not known.
The split also resulted in two spheres of power: the Tabara-Paduano Group of Veronica Tabara and Stephen Paduano is active in Paduano and throughout Negros Occidental . In Luzon and the province of Iloilo , the faction of Nilo de la Cruz has more supporters. In Panay , Mindanao, Aklan and Antique there are ABB supporters who sympathize with different factions.
Goals, tactics and methods
The brigade originally murdered officers in Manila. In many cases it was simply a matter of stealing the police officers' weapons. In the late 1980s, the group announced that it would attack US military bases and murdered Colonel James Rowe, a member of the Joint United States Military Assistance Group (JUSMAG).
The usual tactic was to attack a single person, but in 1995 the brigade apologized for the deaths of bystanders, a five-year-old boy and a Chinese businessman.
The brigade also attacks oil companies that are accused of exploiting Filipino workers. In 2000, they attacked the Department of Energy's Manila office, Shell Petroleum Corporation and Petron Corporation .
Two members of the brigade were arrested in 2005 for allegedly setting fire on a television broadcast van. More than 15 journalists have been murdered since January 2004; a participation of the brigade is unclear.
Members
The brigade has about 500 members, but it is not clear how many are loyal to the Alex Boncayao Brigade.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Federal Ministry of the Interior, Terrorism Report 2000
- ↑ CDI: In the Spotlight: Alex Boncayao Brigade (ABB) of February 6, 2004 (English) ( Memento of October 19, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Jane's: Alex Boncayao Brigade (ABB) (Philippines), GROUPS - ASIA - DORMANT
- ↑ Background: The GPH and RPMP / RPA / ABB Peace Process. (No longer available online.) In: Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP). June 16, 2010, archived from the original on May 10, 2016 ; accessed on May 9, 2016 .
- ↑ Wikiphilipinas ( Memento of the original from December 2, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
