How have I never heard of them? The word “based” doesn’t come even close to how amazing they are:

The NPA has explicitly allowed the recruitment of sexual and gender minorities. Many queer Filipinos join the NPA due to the lack of LGBT rights in the Philippines, and they believe that queer liberation can be achieved through a communist revolution. To the NPA, one’s ability and willingness to serve the cause takes precedence over one’s sexual orientation and gender identity; the CPP had recognized “the right to form samesex relationships and changing one’s gender” since 1992.

And of course they are designated as a terrorist group by the usual suspects.