Revolutionary Proletarian Army-Alex Boncayao Brigade (ABB)

Overview

Founded in the mid-1980s, the Revolutionary Proletarian Army - Alex Boncayao Brigade (ABB) is an urban hit squad for the New People’s Army (NPA). Similar to their parent group, the NPA, the ABB aims to replace the current form of government with Marxist rule through urban warfare, eliminating all U.S. military presence (and Filipino support for it) in the country.
After its inception, the ABB was one of the most feared rebel groups in the region for killing over 200 police officials, political opponents, and various civilians.[1] The ABB grew out of the Communist Party of the Philippines’ military branch, the NPA. The NPA took root in the southern region of the country in the early 1980s, waging guerilla warfare against security and police officials in the region’s rural areas. Disagreements on waging an insurgency in the jungle versus focusing on an urban environment led one militant, Felimon “Popoy” Lagman, and his Manila-Rizal committee to split from the larger group and commit to attacking the government from Filipino cities. 

In March 1997, ABB merged with the militant group, Revolutionary Proletarian Army, to become the Revolutionary Proletarian Army-Alex Boncayao Brigade (RPA-ABB). Since Lagman’s death in 2001, infighting caused the organization to split into two separate factions, one headed by Nilo de la Cruz, the other by Veronica Tabara and Stephen Paduano. While the RPA-ABB no longer poses a significant terrorist threat to the Philippine government as they signed, and have obeyed, a ceasefire agreement since 2001, they still remain a problem for police forces for continuing a criminal agenda targeting civilians. In 2001, the group was added to the State Department’s Terrorist Exclusion List. 

Arsenal

Group members often steal weapons from police or military sources, or purchase them through illicit markets. Included in their arsenal are M-16 assault rifles, AK-47s, assorted handguns, rocket-propelled grenades, and various bladed weapons.

Funding

ABB is largely funded through the fruits of their criminal activity, including extortion, kidnapping for ransom, scams, counterfeiting, and robbery. According to reports, some police officers are involved in running kidnap for ransom operations with ABB members.

Tactics

The ABB is responsible for a variety of incidents, not least of which is the murder of U.S. Army Col. James Rowe in 1989. They were also well-known for targeting police officials, U.S. security forces, journalists, and oil companies for allegedly exploiting Filipino laborers. In 2000, the group was credited with committing a rifle grenade attack against a Department of Energy building in Manila, as well as strafing Shell Oil offices in the central Philippines.
Since the ceasefire negotiations in 2001, RPA-ABB has been accused of participating in anti-NPA activities, including operating with local criminal networks. From 2006 to 2007, RPA-ABB members were accused by other leftist groups of providing information to security forces on the location and status of key leaders and members in the movement, which led to several extra-judicial killings.[2]  

Gallery

References

1. IHS Jane’s. (2008, September 18). Alex Boncayao Brigade (ABB). Jane’s World Insurgency And Terrorism. Retrieved from [1]
2. Palmero, M. (n.d.). Manila Standard Today. Retrieved from [2]
3. Fernandez, C. (2007, May 9). The News Today. Retrieved from [3]
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