The disclosure was made after the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), the political arm of the NPA, celebrated its 43rd founding anniversary. On the occasion, the CPP ordered its members to intensify their mass-based recruitment and attacks on the government.

The NPA’s P300-million take, the AFP public affairs office said in a statement, was generated through “extortion” and other “criminal activities,” mostly from business owners and companies in the Visayas and Mindanao.

Last year the rebels earned at least P1 billion, the bulk of which was exacted from permit-to-campaign and permit-to-win fees from politicians who either solicited rebel support to win in their respective areas or to be allowed  to campaign without being harassed.

Col. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos, military spokesman, said the rebels carried out at least 31 attacks from January to December this year, mostly on business establishments and government projects that resulted in the loss of at least P1.2 billion.

The most significant of these attacks were the simultaneous raids on three mining firms in Surigao del Norte in October, wherein mining plants and heavy equipment worth more than P3 billion were lost.

The losses may even be higher; one of the attacked companies  was forced to suspend operations for more than a week.

Burgos said the rebels also detonated at least 21 land mines and homemade bombs; 28 people, five of them soldiers, were killed.

Armed Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen Jessie Dellosa had condemned the death of civilians during these attacks.

“Nothing can justify these immoral attacks against innocent civilians and their property; there are peaceful and democratic means they could use to advance their goals,” he said.