Manila, March 26 -- The New People's Army (NPA) is now "leaderless" and only has one remaining "weakened' guerrilla front that is expected to be dismantled within the year, the National Security Council (NSC) said Wednesday.

In a panel discussion hosted by the Presidential Communications Office, NSC Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya said the NPA, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), is now "at its lowest point in its more than 50 years of reign of terror in the countryside."

"Actually, leaderless sila ngayon kasi 'yung buong Central Committee, ang dami na doon ang na-ano, na-neutralize natin (They are leaderless now because the entire Central Committee, we have neutralized many of them)," Malaya said....