Alex Boncayao Brigade

Alex Boncayao Brigade, Manila-based death squad that assassinated dozens of people on the orders of the Communist Party of the Philippines, Marxist-Leninist (CPP-ML) during the 1980s.

The CPP-ML broke away from the main Philippine Communist Party in 1968–69 and created the New People’s Army (NPA). The NPA went to war against the Philippine government, operating mostly in the countryside surrounding Manila and the outlying islands of the archipelago. Throughout the 1970s, fighting was fierce between the communists and the government of Pres. Ferdinand Marcos. The government could not eliminate the guerrillas, but the guerrillas were unable to consolidate their territorial gains. The NPA was unsuited for combat in a large city, and a vocal faction within its leadership pushed for a change in tactics. This group proposed a new force that would consist of hit squads of up to four men, who would carry out targeted assassinations of government officials, businessmen, soldiers, and police. Although the number of actual assassins was quite small—some sources estimate as few as 30, even during the peak of the brigade’s activity—their support system was vast, with as many as 500 other members providing intelligence, supplies, and safe houses. The new force came to be known as the Alex Boncayao Brigade (ABB), after a labour leader turned guerrilla who was killed by security forces in 1983.

The ABB, which operated independently of its parent organization, launched its first attack in May 1984. It soon acquired a reputation for vicious efficiency. The ABB’s hit men were nicknamed “sparrow squads” for their swiftness and skill at fluttering out of the hands of police. Throughout the 1980s, they killed dozens of people per year. The ABB did not limit its targets to Filipinos; the group is believed to have murdered U.S. Army Col. James Rowe and several other Americans. In the early 1990s, the ABB’s fortunes declined. It formally split with the NPA in 1991, and factionalism within both groups diminished the capabilities of each. In 1994 the ABB’s commanding officer, Felimón Lagmán, was arrested, and the organization was left leaderless. Unexpectedly, however, the ABB reemerged in December 1995, carrying out a series of attacks on local business executives. The NPA disavowed any connection with these attacks, and in March 1997 the ABB announced that it had allied itself with the Revolutionary Proletarian Army (RPA).

Despite the arrest of ABB leader Nilo de la Cruz later that year, the new alliance began an offensive directed mostly at industrialists and business executives, particularly those in the oil industry. It also added bombings to its tactics. During the late 1990s, however, police arrested several key leaders. In December 2000, the remnant of the RPA-ABB signed a truce with the government of Pres. Joseph Estrada. This pact included provisions for disarmament and the release of RPA-ABB prisoners.