The Alex Boncayao Brigade was established in May 1984 and was named after a labor leader killed by Philippine governmentsecurity forces the year before. The brigade became especially active after the departure of then-President Ferdinand Marcos as a consequence of the People Power Revolution, and during the term of President Corazon Aquino. In 1993, Filemon Lagman and several cadre of the Manila-Rizal regional committee of the Communist Party of the Philippines broke away from the mainstream group, taking the Alex Boncayao Brigade with them. In a 1993 interview, Nilo Dela Cruz stated that the organization had 100 members. He went on to explain that the group was striving to improve their knowledge of remote controlled explosives. He also mentioned that other than Leon's Red Scorpion's, the military had not been able to capture a single Brigade member. Alfredo de Leon had broken away from the Brigade in 1991, and 14 Red Scorpion members were killed not long after in 2002. In 1994, Lagman was arrested in Quezon City, putting a damper on the brigade's activities. The ABB itself, headed by Nilo dela Cruz, would eventually split from Lagman in 1997 after an internal rift. Lagman would later give up the armed struggle and become a labor union organizer. He was assassinated in 2000, allegedly by members of his former revolutionary group. Nilo dela Cruz, using the alias "Sergio Romero", was arrested that same year in Bulacan after crashing his car while being pursued by government intelligence agents. It would later be revealed that Dela Cruz had allied the ABB with the Revolutionary Proletarian Army, forming the Revolutionary Proletarian Army – Alex Boncayao Brigade. This was not the first time Dela Cruz had been arrested, or used an alias; in the 1970s he had been detained in the Youth Rehabilitation Center at Fort Bonifacio under the alias "Mario Saldaña". He had kept a low profile then and his true identity was never discovered. In 2003 it was reported that Dela Cruz had "shifted from terrorist activities as leader of the ABB to organizing the labor forces of the Philippines into trade unions".
Activities
The Alex Boncayao Brigade is credited with the assassinations of nearly 200 police officers from 1984 until 1993. In 1984, the ABB claimed responsibility for the assassination of Police General Tomas Karingal, a former Chief of the Quezon City Police Department. In 1989, they claimed responsibility for the assassination of United States Army Colonel James N. Rowe, an adviser to the Philippine Army. In 1996, the ABB also claimed responsibility for the assassination of Philippine Constabulary Lt. Col. Rolando Abadilla, a former chief of the Metrocom Intelligence and Security Group. As proof of the deed, they turned over the late Abadilla's wristwatch to a Catholic priest, Fr. Robert Reyes. In 2000, the group proudly claimed responsibility for attacks against the Department of Energy in Manila and Shell Oil offices in the central Philippines. They claimed to have done this to protest the rising oil prices that were currently arising. Consequently, the US government added the ABB to its Patriot Act Terrorist Exclusion Listin 2001. Terrorist incidents attributed to the Alex Boncayao Brigade in the Global Terrorism Database show that the majority of their acts are armed assault and assassinations. Their remaining acts are bombings, explosions and facility/ infrastructure assault. During these acts, the ABB’s weapons of choice during much of the actions committed was that of the use of firearms and explosives. Throughout these activities, most of the group’s funds came from the “extortion and intimidation” of wealthy citizens and successful business owners. The group called these funds “revolutionary taxes” or “protection payments”.
Peace talks
In 2000, Nilo dela Cruz of the ABB and Arturo Tabara, leader of the Revolutionary Proletarian Army, announced their intention to engage in peace talks with the government of Joseph Estrada; this resulted in a truce with the Philippine Army.On December 6, 2000, a peace agreement was signed by the Republic of the Philippines and RPMP/RPA/ABB with the foundation of shared desire for a peaceful settlement of the armed conflict. This in turn prompted a vehement condemnation from Filemon Lagman; in a press release he branded Tabara and Dela Cruz "scoundrels masquerading as revolutionaries". Due to the Brigade’s negotiations with the government, the New People’s Army has targeted their former partner. In 2002, a “Clarification Document” was signed and agreed upon in response to the issues raised on the substance within the 2000 agreement. The agreement signed is the model used for the 2019 peace talks between the government and local CPP–NPA–NDF wings.
In popular culture
A film entitled Alex Boncayao Brigade: The Liquidation Arm of the NPA starring Ronnie Ricketts was released in 1988. One source states that the film focuses on the Alex Boncayao Brigade as an “urban assassination squad” that executes “perceived enemies of the people”. Another similar take on the film is that the plot focuses on “rebels” that leave their mountain haven and enter the city to liberate and bring justice to the oppressed.
