Solidarity Message, December 8, 2017
In the name of the International League of Peoples’ Struggle, I gladly extend militant greetings and solidarity to the Executive Committee of Migrante International, the leadership and membership and the guests on the founding assembly of Migrante-Philippines and the debut of Migrante-Youth at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani Theater in Quezon City, Metro Manila, this December 8-9.
The theme laid for the delegates and representatives from the provinces, regions and cities in the whole country to the assembly of the new Migrante chapter are very timely and important: Advance Migrante-Philippines! Further expand and spread out to the entire archipelago! Consolidate your strength for continuous advance and struggle! Closely unite with, and contribute to, the strengthening of the worker’ movement, youth movement and the entire national democratic movement!
It is fine that you have established Migrante-Philippines as a strong and wide foundation for Migrante International in the entire archipelago. Consolidate the strength of the families and communities of migrant workers that you have already reached and further expand to reach those waiting for your organizers and educators. Take advantage of the opportunity to increase your chapters and form the necessary levels of leadership. Participate and contribute to the further strengthening of the workers movement, youth movement, women’s movement and the entire national-democratic movement.
The crisis of the backward, agrarian and semifeudal Philippine economy. Duterte’s promises of industrial development so that there would be enough jobs in the country and people are no longer forced to leave for abroad due to lack of job, are all lies. Even before the Duterte regime started, the pro-US oligarchy had designated the neoliberal economic policy. In the course of the GRP-NDFP peace negotiations, the regime clearly did not like the policy of national industrialization and land reform that the NDFP upholds. But the government and the big compradors use this to import finished products and add to new loans to cover trade deficits. In various forms of fees for documents, and other reasons, the reactionary government milks the migrant workers through the POEA, OWWA and other agencies although these do not help them defend their rights and help with their other various needs.
The regime continues the system of importing finished products and exporting raw materials, semi-manufactures and workers at low wages and without strong protection for their democratic rights in the global market. The regime always intentionally devalue wages through endo or short-term contractualization and other methods. Thus, poverty and unemployment intensify and the workers are forced to look for work abroad at very low wages. The regime do not also give help and protection to the workers exploited and abused or removed from work because of the worsening crisis of the country of migration.
Since Duterte became president, his main preoccupation has been how he can fool and use the military, police and paramilitary forces to terrorize the Filipino people, concentrate all powers in his hands and establish a fascist dictatorship under the guise of a bogus federal form of government. He first implemented his mass killing campaign of tens of thousands of suspected drug addicts and pushers by police-created death squads. At the same time, it turns out that the big druglords like Peter Lim and his own son and son-in-law are involved in the smuggling and distribution of illegal drugs.
Duterte pushed the Maute group to enter Marawi City and used this opportunity to order the reactionary military to fight and bomb and raze the entire city of Marawi to the ground only to demonstrate to the whole nation that he is strong and he can use excessive violence. He also used this an opportunity for declaring martial law in the whole of Mindanao and regard the NPA and other revolutionary forces as targets.
Since he became president, Duterte declared an all-out war policy against the armed revolutionary movement of the Filipino people under the CPP leadership. At first he hid under the pretext of continuing Aquino’s Oplan Bayanihan until the end of 2016. Afterwards, he started his own Oplan Kapayapaan at the beginning of 2017. Duterte only pretended to want negotiations. But even with a ceasefire in place, the offensives of his military, police and military forces continued against the revolutionary forces and the people. In talking with the NDFP, his negotiators always put forward the issue of prolonged ceasefire more than any substantive agreement on the reforms demanded by the people.
Now, Duterte has been loudly saying that he wants war instead of peace negotiations and he has issued a proclamation labeling the CPP and NPA as terrorist and also label as terrorist any legal organization or individual suspected of supporting and supplying those labeled as terrorist. Duterte has also started to order the military, police and paramilitary forces to kidnap, torture and murder suspected revolutionaries o those suspected of relating to the latter among the ranks of the people, the indigenous, legal organizations and social activists.
At first, Duterte pretended he would remove the Philippines from US domination. Eventually, it appeared that he wanted only to multiply semicolonial masters among the big capitalist and imperialist powers and give the Philippines to them as sphere of influence. He only wants to have many sources of arms and loans for mortgaging our country. Thus the treaties, agreements and arrangements putting the Philippines under the US as principal semicolonial master continue. And thus, the uneven relations with US allies such as Japan and Australia also continue.
Duterte also expects Chinese loans for building railways and other infrastructure projects but he has also surrendered to China the West Philippine Sea and the exclusive economic zone and extended continental shelf won by the Philippines on the basis of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) at the Permanent Arbitration Commission in The Hague. Duterte has been trying to draw the other ASEAN member-states to bow to the illegal reclamation at excessive Chinese claim over the South Sea.
I have high confidence that Migrante-Philippines and Migrante-Youth can strengthen themselves and serve the masses of migrant workers, their families and communities. In taking on these tasks, you should study the crisis of the ruling system in the Philippines and the global capitalist system, know the trends and problems and ensure that you strengthen your organization and the entire national democratic movement through political education, recruitment of many members and organizing militant chapters.
Long live Migrante-Philippines and Migrante-Youth!
Long live Migrante International! Long live all migrant workers!
Long live the Filipino people!
