Alex Boncayao Brigade

The Alex Boncayao Brigade was established in May 1984 and was named after a labor leader killed by Philippine government security 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 (CPP) 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. 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. 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 2000, the group claimed responsibility for attacks against the Department of Energy in Manila and Shell Oil offices in the central Philippines in protest against rising oil prices. in 2001. Their remaining acts are bombings, explosions and facility or 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. The group called these funds “revolutionary taxes” or “protection payments”. 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 allegedly 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. ==In popular culture==

The ABB was a popular subject to depict in Filipino films during the 1980s, and was often referred to as the Sparrow Unit. Some examples include Target: Sparrow Unit (1987), Ambush (1988), Patrolman (1988), and Alex Boncayao Brigade (1989). ==See also==