--- description: The communist New People's Army has been ordered to "disarm and arrest" drug lords, Philippine media reports title: Philippine Communists Join President Duterte's War on Drugs image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # The Philippine Communist Militia Has Joined President Duterte's War on Drugs by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 4, 2016 8:55 AM CUT by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 4, 2016 8:55 AM CUT As recently installed Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte escalates his war on the country’s drug problem, he has found [willing allies](http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/572319/news/nation/communists-answer-duterte-s-call-to-join-fight-vs-drugs "undefined") in the country’s communists. The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) said in a statement on Saturday that it had authorized its in-house militia, the New People’s Army (NPA), to “disarm and arrest” drug lords, local news site GMA News reports “The CPP reiterates its standing order for the NPA to carry out operations to disarm and arrest the chieftains of the biggest drug syndicates, as well as other criminal syndicates involved in human rights violations and destruction of the environment,” the statement said. Duterte was [sworn in](http://time.com/4388937/philippines-rodrigo-duterte-president-inauguration/ "undefined") last Thursday, nearly two months after his [landslide election win](http://time.com/4328326/rodrigo-duertes-philippines-five-facts/ "undefined") on a promise to eradicate crime, and has thus far wasted no time in making good on that pledge. He has targeted the Southeast Asian nation’s drug trade with particular gusto, telling not only police but even the general public to [“go ahead and kill”](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/01/philippines-president-rodrigo-duterte-urges-people-to-kill-drug-addicts "undefined") addicts themselves. \[[_GMA News_](http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/572319/news/nation/communists-answer-duterte-s-call-to-join-fight-vs-drugs "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4392551/philippines-duterte-drugs-communist-new-peoples-army-kill-addicts/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4392551/philippines-duterte-drugs-communist-new-peoples-army-kill-addicts/"},"headline":"The Philippine Communist Militia Has Joined President Duterte's War on Drugs","datePublished":"2016-07-04T08:55:18.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T23:01:54.009Z","description":"Duterte has also called on the general public to kill drug addicts","url":"https://time.com/4392551/philippines-duterte-drugs-communist-new-peoples-army-kill-addicts/","keywords":["Crime","Drugs","Philippines","President","duterte"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rishi Iyengar","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4392551/philippines-duterte-drugs-communist-new-peoples-army-kill-addicts/","name":"The Philippine Communist Militia Has Joined President Duterte's War on Drugs"}}]}] ```