Message on its 4th National Convention, April 26, 2012
I convey patriotic and militant greetings to the leaders and members of Anakpawis Partylist on its 4th national convention. This gathering of hundreds of delegates representing the working people in various regions, provinces, cities and municipalities is gratifying.
The growth in strength of your party is noticeable. I salute all of you for all your past achievements and your preparations through this convention to further strengthen your party for the coming elections next year and the entire scope of your program for the next five years.
Your convention is a good opportunity for you to sum up your experiences, learn lessons and set the new tasks for your advance towards a higher level of unity and capability. Your theme is timely and appropriate: Working People, Advance and Strengthen Yourselves, Serve, and Triumph!
Your party plays a very important role. You represent the working people—workers, peasants and fisherfolk—who comprise the majority of the population and you strive to express their demands and aspirations through the mass movement and electoral struggle and through having representatives inside Congress.
It is a big anomaly that the big compradors and landlords who comprise a minuscule minority of the population (less than one percent) have the bigger number of representatives in Congress and other branches of government. Nevertheless, even if the maximum number of representatives your party can have in Congress is limited to three, having a voice there is significant as these can cooperate with other nationalist and progressive representatives.
It is good that the voice of the working people breaks the silence or lies of the reactionary representatives regarding the fundamental rights and welfare of the working people and the entire Filipino people. The working people should use the opportunity to criticize the attack dogs of US imperialism and the representative of the exploiting classes in their own backyard that is the Congress.
The representatives of your party should struggle with the enemies of the people inside Congress and more importantly outside through campaigns and other actions regarding important issues. Inside Congress, there are limitations on the representatives of the working people. But outside of Congress, the opportunities are wider and greater to fight for the national and democratic rights of the working people and the Filipino people.
Your convention is a good opportunity to clarify the present situation. The crisis of the global capitalist system and the local ruling system is grave and intensifying. The crisis buffets the working people and the middle social strata with widespread unemployment, landlessness and homelessness, falling profits, rising prices of basic goods and services and other manifestations of widening and deepening poverty and difficulty in life.
Under the neoliberal policy of the imperialist globalization, the extraction of profit and the accumulation of capital in the hands of the monopoly bourgeoisie is accelerating the decline of wages and cutbacks in social services. Every occurrence of the crisis of overproduction is covered by huge debts and the monopoly bourgeoisie and financial oligarch further earn huge profits.
Eventually, the huge loans to the corporations and consumers in the imperialist countries fail to work. Production falls and unemployment increases. The state extends big loans to the banks and corporations. But this does not revive the economy because these loans are prioritized to cover previous loans. Now, the imperialist states themselves have been hit by a grave financial crisis.
The situation in backward, agrarian and semifeudal countries like the Philippines is even worse. The imperialists pass on to them the burden of the crisis. The exports of raw materials and semi-manufactures (assembly of electronic semi-conductors and others) decline. Even overseas employment starts to fall. Unemployment and decline in wages is now widespread, while the rise in the price of oil and other basic goods and services are increasing rapidly.
The present Noynoy Aquino regime is no different or even worse than the Arroyo regime in exploiting and impoverishing the working people. It worships the neoliberal policy and rejects the policy of national independence, national industrialization and land reform. The bureaucrat capitalists led by Aquino are exceedingly corrupt. They are in cahoots with the imperialists, the big compradors and the landlords in exploiting the workers and peasants.
Aquino has said there will be no poor if there is no corruption. He slaps himself. The number of the poor increases and it is true that the corruption of the Aquino regime is increasing and spreading. The Aquino and Cojuangco families and their few collaborators monopolize infrastructure and energy projects, land-grabbing and mining concessions. For the longest time, they insist on the price of 10 billion pesos for Hacienda Luisita. The coco levy funds extorted by Marcos and Danding Cojuangco are being denied to the coconut farmers.
The Aquino regime is no different or is even worse than the Arroyo regime in oppressing and violating human rights. The Aquino regime tolerates the illegal detention, torture and extrajudicial killings committed by the Arroyo regime through Oplan Bayanihan and new crimes are being committed through Oplan Bayanihan. Up to now more than 350 political prisoners languish in jail, while Aquino has long ago released the more than 400 military prisoners.
The Aquino regime does not respect the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Philippines. It follows subserviently the orders of the US imperialists and submits to the increase of US military forces, their free use of the land, air and marine areas of the Philippines. The US and the Aquino regime collude in increasing the number of military exercises and in baiting China and the DPRK thus giving the US the reason to use the Philippines as a launching pad for maintaining US hegemony in East Asia.
I am aware that your party needs correct and clear direction not only for the next elections in 2013 but also for the entire period from 2012 to 2016. You need a program that covers the next five years and that lays down the policies and forms of action to implement the program.
Among the policies should be the promotion of national sovereignty and independence, expansion of democracy by empowering the working people, the development of the Philippine economy through national industrialization and genuine land reform, the promotion of patriotic, scientific and pro-working people culture and education; and an independent and peaceful foreign policy.
These policies should be disseminated and implemented by means of campaigns and informative activities and political education that expands and consolidates your own organization as a party and through mass mobilizations on burning issues. In connection with information and political education, there should be researches and pamphlets on long-term and immediate issues, a dynamic website, audio-visual materials that easily explain the party and its issues, and frequent seminars and forums in institutions, places of work and especially in communities.
Regarding organization, you should be prompt in recruiting members and in building chapters and leading committees. Study sessions and convention on various levels is part of consolidation. Consolidation work is also expansion if you are able to attract those interested. Consolidation work is also expansion because it is through these that members and leaders are honed in organization work.
Regarding mass mobilizations, you should have militant mass actions on burning issues to mobilize your membership, their friends and relatives, colleagues at work and neighbors. The policy of uniting the ranks should be adopted. You should have relations of mutual help and benefit.
I am confident that you will win more and bigger victories strengthening your party and implementing your program for the next five years and that your party will play a big role in advancing the movement for national liberation, democracy, social justice and all-round development.
Long live the Anakpawis Partylist!
Long live the workers and peasants!
Long live the Filipino people!
