The Never Ending War in the Wounded Land: The New People’s Army on Samar

The island of Samar is a part of the Philippines where there has been a substantial amount of insurgent activity carried out by the New People’s Army, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, a Maoist organization. This article examines the theoretical constructs of insurgency warfare and demonstrates how Samar’s physical geography, fragmented political geography, poverty, and landlessness have contributed to the enduring presence of the New People’s Army on that island. Abusive measures implemented by the Armed Forces of the Philippines to combat the New People’s Army have fueled its membership. Its persistence into the twenty-first century, an era of neoliberal hegemony, demonstrates the continuing relevance of Maoism in marginalized and impoverished places such as Samar.