Manila, Dec. 29 -- Despite its decades-long existence, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), together with its allied groups, has failed in its mission to establish a communist state in the Philippines supposedly focused on the needs of the masses, a government task force official said Monday.

"After 57 years of bloodshed, the CPP, including its armed wing, NPA, and legal shield, NDF should finally do what it has stubbornly refused to do for more than half a century: admit failure and defeat," Undersecretary Ernesto Torres Jr., executive director of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), said in a statement.

NPA refers to the New People's Army, while the NDF stands for the National Democratic ...