By Robina Asido

The military and police say that the death of Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founding chairman Jose Maria Sison is a ”big blow” to the remaining followers of the movement.

Sison passed away after a two-week confinement in a hospital in Utrecht on Friday at the age of 83. He has been in the Netherlands cince the late 1980s.

“A new era without Jose Maria Sison dawns for the Philippines, and we will all be better for it. The greatest stumbling block of peace for the Philippines is gone; let us now give peace a chance,” the Department of National Defense (DND) said in a statement Saturday.

Col. Redrico Maranan, Philippine National Police public information office chief, said in a radio interview: ”This is a big blow to the CPP-NPA because they lost someone whom they look up to as a leader.”

Vice President Sara Duterte said:” May God have mercy on his soul.”

The  DND expressed belief that the death of  Sison is “a symbol of the crumbling hierarchy of the Communist Party of the Philippines – New People’s Army -National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF)”.

The DND said ”Sison was responsible for the deaths of thousands of our countrymen. Innocent civilians, soldiers, police, child and youth combatants died because of his bidding.”

“Five decades of brutal and bloody aggression against the state and the Filipino people have led to nothing but destruction and strife for thousands of Filipinos,” he added.

The DND called on the “remaining few believers, who have unwittingly turned themselves into the enemy of the people, still blinded by Sison’s duplicitous and failed promises, to turn their backs on the violent and false ideology of the CPP-NPA-NDF.”

Col. Medel Aguilar, Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesman, said the death of Sison “will further weaken the underground movement.”

“The loss of a “teacher” and “guiding light” leaves the organization with no purpose and clear direction. But the organization needs to have a good teacher and guiding light who will lead its members away from violence and destruction,” he said.

“It’s an opportunity for his successor, if there will be, to chart a new direction in promoting reforms. Hopefully, away from armed struggle,” he added.

Aguilar said based on their last validation the communist rebels still have around 2,112 members “and has continuously decreased since then.” DMS