The following is the timeline of events of the CPP-NPA-NDF rebellion, a conflict between the government of the Philippines, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), the New People's Army (NPA) and the National Democratic Front (NDF).

1960s Sino-Soviet tensions cause the split of the old, Soviet-linked Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas (PKP). The continuous fall of the PKP's Huk rebellion and tensions within the party lead the youth radicals, led by Kabataang Makabayan (KM; Nationalistic Youth), to break away from the party. The leftist KM has been founded by Jose Maria Sison, an ideological leader from Manila. 1968 – A guerilla faction of the PKP, including most of the fighters and being led by Bernabe Buscayno, breaks away as well amid the party's declining significance while abandoning violence as a policy. Buscayno, a Maoist-oriented, is a high school dropout. December 26, 1968 to January 7, 1969 – A Congress of Reestablishment is believed held in Capas, Tarlac. December 26, 1968 – A group of younger Huks, led by Sison (Amado Guerrero) and also including Buscayno, re-establishes the militant Communist Party of the Philippines as a Marxist–Leninist–Maoist party, which later gains support. Sison becomes the chairperson of the CPP which is a former pro-Chinese PKP faction. CPP appeals to the country's business class wanting a smaller role for foreigners; and turns militant nationalism into urban demonstrations against President Ferdinand Marcos. March 29, 1969 – CPP links up with remnants of the PKP's Hukbong Mapagpalaya ng Bayan (HMB) in Central Luzon to launch in Tarlac the Beijing-oriented New People's Army, its military wing. Buscayno (having been called as Commander Dante), who would be its chief, later expands NPA among the peasantry in Luzon. NPA, initially uses "protracted people's war" (PPW) strategy and tactics and whose primary task also is to replace the government with a "national democratic" system with a socialist perspective, leads what will be the world's longest-running Maoist insurgency. 1969: Sison writes "The Philippine Crisis" (later "Philippine Society and Revolution") as the "Bible" of the CPP-led national democratic revolution. The Philippine Constabulary (PC) reports 21 clashes in ten key Luzon provinces. On the other hand, as later claimed by the NPA, they have "annihilated" 200 "people's enemies" including 17 United States military personnel.

1970s In the early 1970s, the CPP begins spreading of area of activities beyond its traditional base of operations in the Central Luzon, establishing sanctuaries in Isabela, Zambales, Camarines Sur, and parts of Mindanao.

1970 As Marcos administration later reveals, CPP either have organized or have been involved in at least 258 major demonstrations, some 33 ended violently. With the death of the Huk's former member Pedro Taruc and the capture of its military commander Faustino del Mundo (Commander Sumulong), Buscayno's leadership becomes undisputed. January–March – During the First Quarter Storm, CPP-led student demonstrations against President Marcos occur in the Greater Manila Area. December 29 – 1Lt. Victor Corpus, a Philippine Constabulary official and an instructor at the Philippine Military Academy (PMA), defects to the NPA after leading ten guerrillas that raided the PMA armory, taking away several weapons which they brought to their camp in Isabela. With code name Viet Cong, he would be the NPA deputy military commander, reportedly by mid-1971, and a CPP Central Committee member.

1971

As Marcos administration later reveals, the number of CPP-linked demonstrations exceeds that of the previous year, 24 of these ended violently. The PC have reported 46 clashes in ten key provinces in Luzon since 1969. On the other hand, as later claimed by the NPA, they have killed or injured 600 "enemy troops" and have punished 230 "bad elements" within that year.

March: CPP seizes control of a number of labor unions, succeeding in splitting them. Carlos del Rosario, a CPP Central Committee member involved in its engagement with the labor unions, disappears. March 29 – Army Lt. Crispin Tagamolila, a reserved officer, becomes the second defector to the NPA; declaring that corruption and theft among high military ranks are his primary motive. A guerilla based in Isabela, he becomes known by the nom de guerre "Kumander Cely". He is the brother of Antonio, president of the College Editors Guild of the Philippines in the 1960s. May 1: Security forces open fire on 4,000 workers and students protesting in front of the Congress building. The forces are led by the various Stalinist CPP-linked organizations — KM, the Samahang Demokratiko ng Kabataan (SDK; Democratic Federation of Youth), and KASAMA, a newly founded labor group. Tear gas is dropped on the crowd as some are beaten. Three demonstrators are killed and 18 are wounded, many severely. KM, SDK, and Movement for Democratic Philippines (MDP) stage rallies twice to condemn the incident and to denounce President Marcos—on May 22 at Plaza Miranda, participated by Liberal Party (LP) senatorial candidate John Osmeña; and on June 12 in Cebu City, to support the latter. The Movement for the Advancement of Nationalism (MAN), a PKP front organization, publishes a statement, Dissent and the Proletariat, showing support to the Marcos administration. August 21 – A grenade explosion in a pre-election rally of the oppositionist LP at Plaza Miranda in Quiapo, Manila, kills nine individuals including a press photographer and two children; and injures a hundred others including all eight LP Senate candidates as well as incumbent senators, LP president Gerardo Roxas and Sergio Osmeña, Jr. President Marcos accuses the CPP–NPA for the attack—which is then widely attributed to him—that triggers a series of events that led to the 1972 declaration of martial law. Corpus' 1986 statement and the interviews in late 1980s with eight of the former CPP senior officials reveal the CPP's responsibility for the bombing. Being ordered by Sison, party organizer Danny Cordero leads the attack. Cordero would be executed by his comrades in 1972 in the Isabela forest; the accomplices, Cecilio Apostol and Danilo Valero, would die in military encounters in 1971 and in 1977, respectively. August 22 – Following the bombing incident, President Marcos declares state of emergency and immediately suspends some constitutional rights including writ of habeas corpus. Ninety-eight to more than a hundred suspected subversives are detained following mass arrests. August 26 – Heavily armed communist guerrillas, believed to be led by Corpus, raid a regional army camp somewhere in northern Luzon, where Task Force Lawin is stationing, and destroy two Philippine Air Force helicopters. A soldier and two guerrillas are injured in a clash. It is the first direct assault on the military installation since the Huk rebellion. By September, the number of hardcore NPA members are estimated by the military intelligence between 300 and 400. NPA has been expanding their activities beyond Central Luzon.

1972

NPA establishes two Armed City Partisans (ACPs); but are aborted after the declaration of martial law. ACP, which would be relaunched in 1975, will be the forerunner of the Alex Boncayao Brigade. January–April – The PC reports a total of 30 clashes nationwide; 21 rebels and 30 from the government side are killed, bringing the total since 1969 to 42 and 132, respectively. Mid-April – Gen. Romeo Espino, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, publicizes news on the apparent leadership of former army lieutenant Corpus. The guerilla forces have been operating in the mountains of Isabela. Espino also says that the NPA, which has been rapidly acquiring weapons, succeeds in an expansion drive in northern Luzon and in Camarines Sur, and expands their activities to Mindanao. Early or mid-April – Seven guerrillas, including former Lt. Tagamolila, are killed in an encounter with the PC in northern Isabela. May – The NPA, in a report released through the CPP, claims having 400,000 followers and having set up revolutionary committees in 800 villages in 18 of the 67 provinces. Meanwhile, the government states that its mass base is only 60,000, with 570 cadres, some 1,250 part-time guerrillas, and 4,500 support troops. On the other hand, NPA claims destroying several government equipment. July 3 – Danny Cordero is fatally shot by Elizabeth Principe, one of the nine members of a tribunal which has voted the previous day to execute him, in a camp in Isabela. There have been a disagreement between Cordero and Ruben Guevarra, also a tribunal member, following their involvement in the Plaza Miranda bombing.

4 July - The MV Karagatan, which was supposed to bring armaments supplied by China to the NPA reaches Digoyo Point in Palanan, Isabela. However the ship is discovered by a military patrol and is abandoned as it runs aground. 18 July - A government raid on an NPA hideout in Cordon, Isabela leads to the discovery of the so-called Taringsing Documents, outlining plans by the CPP-NPA to overthrow the government by 1973. July 22 – The country's news agency reports that some 400 NPA members, led by army defector Corpus, have been meeting in the three villages in San Mariano, Isabela, and grouping in preparation for attack on military installations. The band comes from a mountainous camp in Palanan where they have been driven away by government troops; and are believed to be the same group that has encountered the police earlier that month, where four troops and two dissidents are killed.

September 11 – A gun battle between the police and armed NPA band, believed being involved in a series of terrorist attacks in the metropolitan area, near a Mobil Oil petroleum dump in Pandacan, Manila, results in the deaths of a leader of the suspected commando band, as well as a police sergeant. Another guerrilla escapes; six others are arrested aboard a jeep en route to the area. September 21 – President Marcos signs Proclamation No. 1081, placing the entire country under martial law, citing need to suppress "state of rebellion" instigated by NPA. The decree puts the figures of the increased NPA strength at about 7,900 combatants (1,028 regulars; 1,800 combat support; 5,025 service support) by July 31. Within two months, some 6,100 people are arrested; while such declaration destroys the suspected communist-infiltrated student organizations including KM and SDK. However, many suspect government of using NPA as excuse for tightening authoritarian grip. Meanwhile, this results to bolstering of CPP and NPA ranks as many student activists flee cities. September 22: Defense Secretary Juan Ponce Enrile survives an ambush as gunmen shot his convoy while on his way home in Makati (then in Rizal). The government accuses NPA in relation to the assassination attempt, which is called by President Marcos "the last straw" to justify martial law. Enrile later admits in February 1986 that the incident has been staged. General Order No. 2 orders the arrest of Buscayno and Sison, who have been included in the so-called "National Target List" of active participants in plot against the government. A Department of National Defense (DND) order has set rewards for their neutralization. September 23 – President Marcos formally announces through evening broadcasts the martial law decree. In his speech to the nation, he reiterates that the imposition of martial law is due to existence of "state of rebellion", particularly by the NPA. October 1 – The first armed encounter between the government and the NPA since the martial law declaration occurs in Zambales, in which 20 guerrillas are involved; at least one of them is killed and eight are captured.