Consolidate Your Ranks and Advance the National Democratic Struggle

Greetings to PAMANTIK-KMU on its 10th Congress
Cabuyao City, Laguna, October 12-13, 2017

I am pleased to convey liberating and militant greetings to the Workers Unity of Southern Tagalog-May First Movement (PAMANTIK-KMU) on the occasion of its 10th Congress. I am happy that the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the October Revolution is part of your program.

Your rich experience and your victories in the struggle to defend the workers’ democratic rights, uphold genuine, militant, and anti-imperialist unionism and achieve genuine freedom, national sovereignty and full democracy are admirable.

We all take pride that PAMANTIK-KMU has fulfilled its mandate to be the regional union center of Southern Tagalog since its establishment on March 29, 1985. In the current Congress, you can sum up your experiences and draw lessons to clarify your tasks and advance the struggle to new and higher levels.

I am sure you will elect an experienced, competent and wise leadership that relies on the membership in implementing your program. The theme of your Congress is correct and timely: “Further consolidate our ranks! Reject legalism, economism and conservatism in the labor movement! Expose and combat the fascist and neoliberal attacks of the US-Duterte regime! Further advance the national democratic struggle with a socialist perspective!”

We must strengthen our ranks through consolidation and expansion and through militant struggles and broad united front against the puppet, cruel, neoliberal and corrupt US-Duterte regime and the entire ruling system of big compradors and landlords in order to advance the national democratic revolution and onward to socialism.

Use legal methods of struggle, but do not indulge in legalism. Fight for immediate economic demands such as a fair wages and regular employment, but use all methods in the political struggle. Repudiate conservatism and be militant, creative and daring in struggle.

We now face a de facto fascist dictatorship. Ruthless in its use of violence and intimidation in confronting the patriotic and democratic forces. The regime controls the so-called super-majority in Congress and majority in the Supreme Court. Deceptive in its use of fake statements and promises without any intention of fulfillment. Brutal in using state terrorism against the poor and against revolutionaries.

The Duterte regime is determined to implement and formalize the fascist dictatorship. He has already obtained from the Supreme Court the dismissal of plunder cases against Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and other allies and the confirmation of his martial law proclamation in Mindanao, and he can use this as the basis for the proclamation of martial law nationwide. He can also obtain from Congress and the planned Constitutional Assembly the “federal” system of the state as a pretext for a fascist dictatorship.

Prior to the Constitutional Assembly, he has already obtained from Congress the postponement of the election of barangay councils and youth councils. Thus he will have the privilege of selecting officials of the barangay and youth councils to control the “ratification” of the new constitution. Added control over the masses are the Movement for Change, Masa Masid and Citizens National Guard.

The Inter-Agency Legal Action Group (IALAG) has been reestablished in the form of the Inter-Agency Committee on Legal Action (IACLA) to use in accusing the enemies of the regime of trumped up crimes and to cover up the killings and forced disappearances committed by the military and the police. The killings under Oplan Tokhang will be expanded and the prize per head for every person killed raised from 50 thousand pesos to 100,000 pesos.

In the last election, Duterte said he would push for industrialization to develop the Philippines and so that there would be no need for workers to leave the country to find employment. Later on, he also said that he would build industries on an island in the Philippines for foreign enterprises and he would kill KMU unionists should they unionize.

Duterte also pledged to stop the endo or contractualization system of less than six months. When he came to power what he wanted to impose on the working class was worse than endo, the extension of time or increasing work quota. The promise of industrialization got buried in another promise of wanton construction of infrastructure projects dependent on huge Chinese loans. These loan will be bloated by overpricing of supplies and the entry of Chinese contractors and workers into the Philippines. Because the expected US$167 billion loan would not be paid, the traitorous Duterte regime has put on stake the oil and gas deposits in the West Philippine Sea worth trillions of dollars.

As NDFP Chief Political Consultant in the peace talks, I witnessed Duterte’s deceit against the revolutionary movement. On May 16, 2016, he promised the amnesty and release of more than 400 political prisoners in compliance with the GRP-NDFP Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law. In less than a month, he reneged on his promise and said political prisoners would not be released until the end of peace negotiations.

Just as Duterte took office as president, it was already noticeable that his economic team members are rabid pushers of US neoliberalism. Thus Duterte’s economic policies are no different from those of Aquino which are contrary to national industrialization and genuine land reform. Duterte’s national security team are rabid pro-imperialists and anti-communists. Duterte follows their advice to sabotage the peace negotiations with the NDFP because this is the order of their imperialist masters from Washington.

Duterte did not listen to the People’s Agenda presented by BAYAN. Also when reminded that if he really wanted an independent foreign policy, he should dismantle the treaties, agreements and arrangements that binds the Philippines as a client or subservient state to the US and other imperialist countries. It turns out that what Duterte wants is not a truly independent policy but more imperialist masters.

Duterte’s appointment of some patriotic and progressive in his Cabinet was only a temporary deception. He has no interest in an effective connection of the Department of Agrarian Reform under Ka Paeng Mariano to the promise of agrarian reform through the Comprehensive Agreement on Social and Economic Reforms. In fact, Duterte is a double faced tool of his landgrabbing fellow oligarchs in Mindanao—plantations, logging and mining owners destroying the livelihood of the poor, and the environment.

In the GRP-NDFP peace negotiations, we noticed the worsening demands of the US-Duterte regime. First, it reneged on the promise of amnesty and release of more than 400 political prisoners. Second, it wanted to put ahead of all issues the issue of long-term ceasefire for GRP to get the surrender and pacification of the revolutionary movement. It turns out that the regime has no interest in social, economic and political reforms to solve the root causes of the civil war.

However, the GRP and the NDFP still tried a temporary ceasefire that lasted for more than five months from August 2016 to February 2017. We saw that from the start of Duterte’s presidency he wanted to fool the revolutionary movement. He continued Aquino’s Oplan Bayanihan until the end of 2016 and as early as January, launched Oplan Kapayapaan. The military offensives against the revolutionary movement continue nationwide.

Duterte wanted to tie down the revolutionary movement to a ceasefire while the AFP, PNP and paramilitary forces are free to attack the revolutionary forces and the communities. Whenever Duterte throws a tantrum against the NPA, he brutally orders bombings and other offensives against communities.

Duterte committed excessive provocations when he proclaimed martial law throughout Mindanao and ordered the destruction of Marawi City. It turned out that the NPA and other revolutionary forces are the target of the regime in the greater parts of Mindanao. Defense secretary Lorenzana and AFP chief of staff Año themselves said the NPA are targets.

Duterte also repeatedly threatens to proclaim martial law nationwide. This is how the revolutionary movement ascertained that the Duterte regime has no interest in peace negotiations but rather in the military suppression of revolutionaries and others opposed to it. The revolutionary forces also saw Duterte’s scheme of merging martial law with the methods of Oplan Tokhang and Oplan Dobol Barrel Reload to launch massacres against the revolutionary forces and the communities.

Duterte wrongly thought that he has already terrorized the Filipino people with his fake war on illegal drugs. But here is where the regime experienced its first big defeat. The problem of illegal drugs was not solved, but even expanded in the three or six month and even in the one year extension on his promise to solve the drug problem. The problem worsened because Duterte’s son is the biggest drug smuggler and drug lord in the Philippines. Duterte himself is the number one protector of big drug lords and the number one drug addict by his use of the drug fentanyl.

Not only did Duterte’s fail in the promise to end the problem in a short time through violence but he also exposed himself as the No.1 inciter and commander of mass killings of suspected drug addicts and pushers. Duterte gained worldwide notoriety as a rabid killer while the number of drug users even increased from 1.8 million during the Aquino regime to seven million under Duterte, according to foreign secretary Cayetano.

Duterte’s second mistake was the policy to reject negotiations with the Maute and Abu Sayyaf groups that wanted to talk. Duterte simply decided to bomb and raze Marawi City with the help of US imperialist troops. He thought that the Bangsamoro and the Filipino people would be terrified and that he would have the basis to impose martial law on the Philippines whenever wanted. Duterte’s third mistake is the three-time withdrawal from the GRP-NDFP peace negotiations and evident exertions to suppress and end the revolutionary movement through sheer violence. This is Duterte’s biggest mistake: conducting three wars simultaneously. These are generating the growing protest actions of a broad united front.

Duterte will not last long in power under conditions of intensifying socioeconomic crisis, the drop in the people’s employment and income, the increased taxes, rising prices of goods, lack of social services, increasing funds for the military and police, corrupt bureaucrat capitalists like Duterte, and foreign enterprises and banks that always draws superprofits and interests.

The so-called opinion poll surveys on trust and satisfaction of Duterte is falling fast because of his policy of violence and corruption, blatant lying and intimidation. His space for maneuvering is narrowing due to the grave crisis of the local ruling system and the world capitalist system.

Conditions in the Philippines are becoming more difficult. These bode heightened oppression and exploitation of the Filipino people. But the same also incite them to fight for their national and democratic rights and interests. The ILPS expects that as a result of your Congress, the leadership and membership of PAMANTIK would be strengthened to advance the national democratic movement towards socialism.

Long live PAMANTIK-KMU!

Long live the national democratic movement!

Long live the Filipino people!