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We celebrate the 42nd founding anniversa-ry of the Communist Party of the Philip-pines under the theoretical guidance of

Marxism-Leninism-Maoism by renewing our re-solve to fulfill the political and other require-ments for advancing from strategic defensive to

strategic stalemate in the people'swar for national lib-

Pahayagan ng Partido Komunista ng PilipinasPinapatnubayan ng Marxismo-Leninismo-Maoismo ANG

Special IssueDecember 26, 2010

www.philippinerevolution.net

eration and democracy against US imperialismand the local exploiting classes.

We salute all Party cadres and members forstrengthening the Party ideologically, politicallyand organizationally, for victoriously leading theNew People's Army, the National Democratic Frontof the Philippines, the mass organizations, theorgans of political power and the broad masses of

the people for overcoming Oplan

Bantay Laya I and II of the US-Arroyo regime, and accumulatingthe all-round strength to fightand defeat the campaigns of sup-pression being launched by theUS-Aquino regime.

The worsening crisis of worldcapitalism and that of the semico-lonial and semifeudal system pro-

vide us with the favorable condi-tions for further strengthening

the subjective forces of the revo-lution and advancing our people'swar from one stage to another.

The ruling classes of big comprad-ors and landlords are incapable of

solving the crisis and are aggravatingit as a consequence of their subservi-ence to foreign monopoly capitalism,

their plundering character andtheir brutality. The people are suf-

fering more than ever before andthey are driven by the crisis to fightfiercely for their national and dem-ocratic rights and interests.

As the advanced detachment of the working class and as the lead-ing force in the Philippine revolu-tion, our Party is determined tostrengthen itself and guide other

revolutionary forces, such as the

Fulfill the requirements for theadvance of the people's war from thestrategic defensive to the strategicstalemateMessage of the Central Committeeof the Communist Party of the Philippines

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Ang Bayan is published fortnightlyby the Central Committee

of the Communist Party of the Philippines

Ang Bayan is published in Pilipino,Bisaya, Iloko, Hiligaynon, Waray andEnglish editions.

It is available for downloading at thePhilippine Revolution Web Central locat-ed at:

www.philippinerevolution.net

Ang Bayan welcomes contributions inthe form of articles and news. Readersare likewise enjoined to send in theircomments and suggestions for the bet-terment of our publication. You canreach us by email at:

[email protected]

ANG

2 ANG BAYAN December 26, 2010

New People's Army (NPA), the National Democrat-ic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), the mass or-ganizations, and the local organs of political power in further strengthening themselves. Thegrowth in strength of all the organized forces of the revolution ensures the forward movement of the Filipino people in the new democratic revolu-

tion.Benigno Aquino III has emerged as the chief representative of the exploiting classes, havingdrawn the biggest amount of campaign fundsfrom them, enjoyed the support of the medialords, run the most guileful propaganda campaignand benefited from the manipulation of the US-controlled automated voting system. Thus, he ishellbent on continuing the US-dictated policiesof neoliberal globalization, the preservation of the neocolonial fascist state and support for theglobal war of terror. His promise to lift the peo-ple from poverty and misery is a big lie. So is hispromise to hold his predecessor Gloria Arroyo ac-countable for corruption and human rights viola-tions. Poverty, corruption and human rights vio-lations are bound to persist.

The US-Aquino regime does not conceal itsobjective of destroying the revolutionary move-ment by following the US CounterinsurgencyGuide and supporting the strategic objectives of

the US stated in Joint Vision 2020 to maintainworld dominance. It continues the widespreadmilitarization and brutal military campaigns of suppression unleashed by its counterrevolution-ary predecessors. But it wishes to cosmetize thereactionary military, police and paramilitary for-ces with ever more deceptive psywar, demagogicgimmickry and doleout campaigns in the guerril-la fronts and other areas of popular resistance.

The US-Aquino regime intends to use thepeace negotiations with the NDFP as an instru-

ment for deceiving the people and pressuring theNDFP towards capitulation. It is scheming to junkthe peace negotiations when these cannot bebent towards the counterrevolutionary objectivesof the regime. The revolutionary forces and thepeople are aware of these objectives and thus,even if they push for whatever can be achieved

through peace talks, they harbor no illusions thatrevolutionary objectives could be achievedthrough these alone or in the main. They arefully aware that their patriotic and democratic as-pirations can only be effectively pushed in peacenegotiations alongside the primacy of people'swar and mass struggles.

The best way to serve the Filipino people andto honor our revolutionary martyrs and heroes isto advance the new democratic revolutionthrough protracted people's war. Without thepeople's army for waging the people's war, the Fil-ipino people have nothing and can never hope tocomplete the struggle for national liberation anddemocracy. And neither can they hope to havetheir own stable bases or liberated zones, nor toencourage and realize the possible rise of an an-ti-imperialist coalition government.

We stand firmly for waging the people's war,fulfilling the requirements of full-scale guerrillawarfare and advancing it from the strategic de-

fensive to the strategic stalemate by taking ad-vantage of the crisis conditions in order to inten-sify the tactical offensives, carry out land reformand build the mass base and the local organs of democratic power in the countryside. At the sametime, we encourage the patriotic and progressiveforces in the urban areas to intensify the massmovement. We welcome mass activists who wishto join the people's army or to work in the coun-tryside. They are urgently needed by the peasantmasses.

The recent flurry of summitsby the Group of 8, the Group of 20 and the Asia-Pacific Econom-ic Cooperation have exposed theconfusion and inability of theleaders of the imperialist states

to solve the protracted econom-ic depression in their respectiveeconomies. They openly worryabout protectionist trends thatrun counter to the policy of ne-oliberal globalization. They fear

Special Issue December 26, 2010

I. Protracted global depressionand disorder

T he world today is characterized by protracted economic depres-sion and political disorder. The crisis of the world capitalist sys-

tem keeps on worsening and deepening because the imperialistpowers cling to the rapacious fundaments of capitalist exploitationand the dogma of neoliberal globalization. The consequent politi-cal disorder involves the rise of reactionary currents, the escalationof state terrorism, foreign military intervention and wars of aggres-sion. Amid all this rise the people’s resistance and revolution.

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3ANG BAYAN December 26, 2010

also the most conspicuous andmost militant in general strikesand other mass protest actions.The student youth are rising dueto the drastic cutbacks on edu-

cation and other social services. Mass protests

of millions have beensprouting in manycountries in Europeand some states inthe US and spreadingto other countries.

The mass move-ment of the workers

and youth is exposingthe root causes of the crisis andis favoring the advance of pro-gressive political parties. Butthe monopoly bourgeoisie iswhipping up chauvinism, ra-cism, religious prejudices andother reactionary currents in or-der to obfuscate the roots of thecrisis and favor the rise of reac-tionary parties. A tug of war isgoing on between the forces of the Left and the Right in the

electoral and other forms of struggle.The imperialist states are in-

creasingly repressive and proneto use state terrorism. The legal and political infrastructure forfascism has become well en-trenched since the 9/11 anti-terrorist hysteria. The imperial-ist states have stepped up warhysteria and war production,

and have proceeded to escalatemilitary intervention and warsof aggression. They have takenadvantage of the high rate of unemployment to recruit moretroops for their armies and morepolice agents for breaking upstrikes and street demonstra-tions. Fascism is rearing its uglyhead as immigrants and migrantworkers are scapegoated as hav-ing caused the crisis.

Contradictions among theimperialist powers on economic,financial, political and securityissues are steadily growing andbecoming conspicuous. But theimperialist powers still manageto maintain their alliance as

they confront the oppressedpeoples and nations in the un-derdeveloped countries. At anyrate, the crisis is generatingprotectionism in the imperialistcountries. Inter-imperialistcompetition is intensifying

more than ever before for sour-ces of cheap labor, oil and oth-er raw materials, markets, fieldsof investments and spheres of influence.

The US is wary over thetendency of the European Unionto look after its own interests inEurope, Asia, Latin America andAfrica. The EU is currently beingbuffeted by the public debt cri-sis as a consequence of the bail-outs and accumulated neoliber-al spending on high consump-tion and on construction pro-

jects. Japan continues to holdon to the coat tails of UncleSam in terms of accommodationor cooperation in trade, invest-ments, technology and security.In turn, the US wants Japan to

act as a counterforce to Chinaas part of the arc of contain-ment against China in the Asia-Pacific region.

However, the US and Chinahave been the main partnersunder the policy of neoliberal globalization, with the formerserving as the main source of investments and main marketfor the cheap sweatshop con-

sumer manufactures of the lat-ter. Now the US is increasinglyblaming China for the global economic and financial crisisand prating that China's exportsurpluses are the cause of US in-debtedness and that China isprolonging and aggravating thecrisis by manipulating its cur-rency in order to continuecheapening its exports.

The US depicts China as itscurrent and long-term No. 1 ri-val in economic and political terms, notwithstanding the factthat China is a poor countrywith a low per capita GDP evenif its total GDP now ranks sec-ond in the world. China has

both the deflationary tendencyresulting from the depressionand the inflationary tendencyfrom public spending.

In the imperialist countries,public funds have been used tobail out the big banks and cor-porations responsible for theworst economic crisis since theGreat Depression. The use of public funds for bailout in com-bination with tax cuts have al-

lowed the monopoly bourgeoi-sie, especially the finance oli-garchy to show profits and re-vive the financial markets. How-ever, production and employ-ment have continued to decline.

Public deficits and debtshave mounted. Subsequently,brutal austerity measures at theexpense of the workers and therest of the people have been

adopted. Workers' economic, so-cial and political rights are un-der severe attack. Wages havebeen pushed down. Health in-surance has been made more ex-pensive. Unemployment relief and pension benefits have beenreduced. Social services havedrastically been cut back.

The workers are beingpressed upon by their dire con-ditions to wage class struggle.They are conducting strikes in-termittently and on a wideningscale. Among the most threat-ened and victimized as a resultof the crisis are the blue-collar,the public sector, the young andthe migrant workers. They are

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ding in its counterinsurgency

drive. The content and languageof Aquino's new counterinsur-gency campaign plan, OplanBayanihan, to succeed Arroyo’sbrutal Oplan Bantay Laya is justthe same brutal dog with a dif-ferent collar. It is patterned aft-er and hews closely to the latestUS Counterinsurgency Guide,with the same objectives andpretentious features. Couched innew fancy slogans, it combinesall forms of deception, coopta-tion and brute force in seekingto destroy the revolutionary for-ces by all means. Like othercounterinsurgency campaignplans in the past, Oplan Bayan-ihan has the same objective of

strengthened certain parts of the industrial baseinherited from socialism, but has underminedother parts through privatization. It has largeforeign exchange reserves which it has used toexport capital to various parts of the world. ButUS and other multinational firms have a claim onsuch foreign exchange reserves.

China has improved its modern weaponry thatis formidable for defensive purposes, but it is still no match to that of the US for offensive or ag-gressive purposes. It has sought to counterbal-ance the US military presence by forming theShanghai Cooperation Organization, developingclose friendly relations with Russia, and makingthe US dependent on its mediating role with re-gard to the Democratic People's Republic of Ko-rea.

The US is currently being weakened by theeconomic and financial crisis as well as by itswars of aggression in Iraq and Afghanistan andthe overstretch of its military forces elsewhere inthe world. Thus, it appears weakened relative toChina in East Asia and relative to the bloc of countries aligned with Cuba and Venezuela in Lat-in America.

The countries most devastated by the crisis of the world capitalist system are, of course, thoseunderdeveloped ones in Asia, Africa and Latin

America, and those degraded in Eastern Europeand certain republics of the former Soviet Union.The oppressed peoples and nations in all thesecountries undergo terrible suffering. They yearnand struggle for national and social liberationfrom the imperialist countries and the local ex-

ploiting classes.The armed movements fighting the largest and

most intense struggles are those of peoples vic-timized by the US wars of aggression such asthose in Iraq and Afghanistan. Taking the revolu-tionary lead on a longer time scale are the Mao-ist parties waging or preparing to wage people's

war for national liberation and new democracy invarious continents. The people's wars in India,the Philippines, Turkey and elsewhere are show-ing the way. Avowedly Marxist-Leninist partieslike those in Colombia and other countries havealso been waging revolutionary armed strugglefor several decades.

The defeat of the Tamil Tigers has been due tostrategic and tactical errors but has not fore-closed the reemergence of the revolutionaryarmed struggle in Tamil Eelam and Sri Lanka. Anew revolutionary leadership has declared thecontinuance of the people's war. The Maoist par-ty in Nepal is at the crossroads of gaining control over government through parliamentary struggleand mass uprisings, or of resuming a protractedpeople's war.

More armed revolutionary movements arebound to arise in various continents and coun-tries due to the protracted crisis and its effects,such as increasingly severe forms of oppression

and exploitation, more wars of aggression againstthe people and sharpening contradictions amongthe imperialist powers themselves. The ever wor-sening crisis of the world capitalist system is fa-vorable to the armed revolution of the Filipinopeople.

II. Chronic crisis of the rotten system worsens

The chronic crisis of the semicolonial and semifeudal system

continues to worsen under the impact of the crisis of the worldcapitalist system. More than ever before, the Philippines is de-pendent on the export of raw materials, migrant labor and low val-ue-added semimanufactures, and the prices of these are nowpressed down in the global market. More than ever, the Philippinesis stricken by trade deficits, and is a beggar for foreign loans atmore onerous terms and for portfolio investments in search of higher returns in the financial market.

The change of puppet ad-ministration from Arroyo toAquino does not involve anysignificant change. The Aquinoregime clings to the dogma of neoliberal globalization, andshuns national industrializationand land reform. It remains de-pendent on foreign loans andgrants for the continuance of aneconomy oriented to the export

of raw materials, and infrastruc-ture projects to serve agricultur-al and mining corporations. Ithas given first priority to sellingthe Philippines and luring moreforeign investments through itsPublic-Private Partnership Pro-gram.

Like its predecessor regime,the puppet Aquino regime slav-ishly follows its US master's bid-

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controlling and silencing thepopulation right down to thegrassroots. It purports that the“whole-of-nation” and “people-centered” approach that it nowtotes is genuine and is primaryover the military or "enemy-

centered" approach. Its new slo-gans sugarcoat fascist bulletsand atrocities with pretensionsat reaching out to the peopleand respecting human rights, all to provide cover for and facili-tate its brutal campaigns of suppression against the peopleand their revolutionary forces.In intent and reality, US coun-terinsurgency doctrine and prac-tice—as more straightforwardlyprescribed in military manu-als—hold that, in the final analysis, military and other co-ercive measures are primary. Asthe revolutionary struggle gainsstrength, especially amid theever intensifying crisis, the im-perialist and puppet reactionaryforces invariably resort to more

and more militarist and fascistmeans and methods.In conformity with the US

Counterinsurgency Guide, theAquino regime has been usingthe catchwords of good govern-ance, delivery of services, eco-nomic development and securityreforms in order to undertakegraft-ridden programs and pro-

jects, hand doleouts for coun-

terinsurgency purposes, aggra-vate the underdevelopment of the economy and divert resour-ces from education, health andother essential social services tothe military, debt service andprofit remittances by multina-tional corporations.

The World Bank, the US Mil-lennium Challenge Corporationand other imperialist agencieshave joined the charade in an-nouncing that they would favorand support states with devel-opment projects, such as thosebandied about as MillenniumDevelopment Goals and Condi-tional Cash Transfers that sup-posely would raise the quality of

life of the population, improvegovernance and the delivery of basic services, but whose real objectives are to keep the recip-ient countries backward andmendicant, and to further theimperialist neoliberal and coun-terinsurgency agenda.

The Filipino people sufferthe impositions of a regimewhose chieftain Aquino hasbeen handpicked by the US andthe local exploiters. His sup-posed victory in the elections

was predetermined by the prop-aganda, financing and manipu-lation of the foreign-controlledautomated electoral system bythe US and the worst of the lo-cal reactionaries. The Aquino re-gime is being directed by thesame foreign and domestic in-terests that directed the Arroyoregime. It has already exposeditself as essentially similar to

the Arroyo regime in terms of puppetry, corruption, brutalityand mendacity.

To surpass his electoral rivalsin campaign rhetorics, Aquinopromised to prosecute and tryArroyo and her accomplices forcorruption and human rights vi-olations. But the promise is notgoing to be fulfilled as provenby the built-in weaknesses andthe waste-basketting by the Ar-royo-dominated Supreme Courtof the so-called Truth Commis-sion, as well as by the continu-ing condonement not only of the Arroyo regime's humanrights violations but also thoseof the current regime itself.

Intense pressure, includingheavy criticism of the ridicu-lously trumped-up charges,widespread demands nationwideand abroad, the detainees’ reso-lute struggle for justice andfreedom and their hunger strikecompelled the Aquino govern-ment to drop the chargesagainst the Morong 43 and havethem released. The AFP still hasto answer for the injustice, tor-ture and sufferings inflicted onthe victims. The Aquino govern-

ment has still failed to clear andrelease hundreds more political detainees who have also beenfalsely charged, including thosewhose scurity is guaranteed bythe GRP-NDFP Joint Agreementon Safety and Immunity Guaran-tees. It has not rendered justiceto the thousands of victims of human rights violations.

By all indications, the Aqui-

no regime is hellbent on usingthe slogan of human rights inorder to continue the gross andsystematic human rights viola-tions. It is obviously going touse the peace negotiations withthe NDFP and the MILF as an oc-casional propaganda device andto block the demands of thepeople for basic social, econom-ic and political reforms to ad-dress the roots of the armedconflict and lay the basis for a

just and lasting peace. So far,most important to the Aquinoregime is beefing up the mili-tary, police and paramilitary for-ces and unleashing themagainst the people and the rev-

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corruption and other crimes of those who are in power. Theyare obliged to criticize the rul-ing clique in order to seize thepolitical initiative and preparefor the next electoral contest.

At various levels of the polit-

ical system, the competing reac-tionaries build their respectivearmed strength by cultivatingfactions within the military andpolice and by organizing theirown armed body guards and pri-vate security agencies and mili-tia units. GRP president Aquinoas commander-in-chief of thearmed forces has the advantageover his political opponents inusing the military and policechain of command and his ownprivate security corporation.But the regime is vulnerable tothe changing alignments amongthe armed factions that strugglefor power and spoils, especiallyin lucrative official assignmentsand criminal activities.

There is no sign whatsover

that the war between the Mani-la government and the Moro Is-lamic Liberation Front (MILF)would be resolved under theAquino regime. The regime andits imperialist master seek thecapitulation of the MILF so thatthey can exploit and plunder thenatural resources in Bangsamoroland in Mindanao. But the MILF is unwilling to give up the right

of the Bangsamoro to self-de-termination and to their ances-tral domain.

While the war continues inBangsamoro land, the Manilagovernment has less deployablemilitary forces against the NewPeople's Army. At the same time,while the people's war advancesthroughout the Philippines, theMILF and the Bangsamoro havebetter prospects of achievingtheir revolutionary aspirations.The revolutionary forces andpeople led by the CommunistParty of the Philippines have al-ways recognized the right of theMoro people to national self-de-termination. The Moro people

have the right to secede from anoppressive state as well as toopt for autonomy in a central-ized or federal state that is non-oppressive.

The contradictions betweenthe US imperialists and the Fili-

pino people are sharpening inevery field—economic, politi-cal, military and cultural. TheUS has tightened its grip on thePhilippine economy under thepolicy of neoliberal globaliza-tion. At the same time, it hasincreased its military interven-tion under its policy of “global war on terror” and particularlyunder the Visiting Forces Agree-ment (VFA) and the US Counter-insurgency Guide. Under variouspretexts, the US has realized thepermanent basing and deploy-ment of US military forces in thePhilippines. US military officershave openly acted as the bossesof the Filipino puppet forces.

The US is bent on escalatingits military intervention to a

war of aggression against theFilipino people as the revolu-tionary forces gain strength to-wards the strategic stalemate.But US military forces are beingadversely affected by the do-mestic US economic and finan-cial crisis, by being sucked intothe quagmires of two wars of aggression and by being over-stretched in overseas deploy-

ment.The possibility of a US war of

aggression against the Filipinopeople can be diminished by therise of more armed revolutionsin the world and by diplomaticactions taking advantage of growing contradictions betweenthe US and certain countries inEast Asia, like China and theDPRK. But the most importantconsideration is that the Filipi-no people and the revolutionaryforces shall have gained a greatamount of strength and experi-ence from advancing towardsthe strategic stalemate andshall have prepared to fight aUS war of aggression.


olutionary forces.The contradictions between

the Filipino people and theAquino regime will sharpen. Thepeople will resent Aquino forfailing to fulfill his promise tosolve the problem of poverty by

eliminating corruption. The re-gime has practically condonedthe crimes of corruption com-mitted by the Arroyo clique andallows the continuing rampageof corruption. To end poverty, itis not enough to stop corrup-tion. Social justice and develop-ment through national industri-alization and land reform arenecessary. But the Aquino re-gime is opposed to these aswell, as proven by his actua-tions on the Hacienda Luisita is-sue and his policy pronounce-ments and acts that exceedinglytout foreign investments and fa-vor the imperialist policy of ne-oliberal globalization.

The people cannot tolerateextreme forms of exploitation

and oppression inflicted onthem. Social discontent is morewidespread and intense than ev-er before. The mass organiza-tions of the toiling masses andthe middle social strata are gird-ing for concerted mass actions.Strikes and mass demonstrationshave begun to break out and arebound to spread. The armed rev-olutionary struggle is intensify-

ing. The people's army islaunching more tactical offen-sives than ever before in orderto realize the objective of ad-vancing from the strategic de-fensive to the strategic stale-mate in five years.

As the crisis worsens and thepeople's resistance rises, thecontradictions among the reac-tionaries intensify. The econom-ic and financial basis for mutual accommodation among the re-actionaries has further nar-rowed. The ruling reactionariesheaded by Aquino tend to mo-nopolize the spoils of power.The reactionaries in the opposi-tion are pushed to expose the

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improve work and style of work.When errors and shortcomingsof major proportions are com-mitted, higher organs conductrectification campaigns of vary-ing scale and duration.

The CPP Central Committeeinitiated and led the SecondGreat Rectification Movement(SGRM) from 1992 to 1998 thatidentified, criticized, repudiatedand rectified major errors of Leftopportunism and Right oppor-tunism arising from the subjec-tivist notion that the Philip-pines has ceased to be semifeu-dal. The Left opportunists whopushed the lines of “strategic

counteroffensive” and “urbaninsurrectionism” (Red Area-White Area, etc.) departed fromthe strategic line of protractedpeople's war and underminedthe mass base of the revolution-ary movement. Subsequently,they conjoined with the Rightopportunists who got carriedaway by Gorbachovism, Trotsky-ism, bourgeois liberalism and

other petty bourgeois trendsand who were most vocal in es-

pousing the liquidation


III. The Party leads the revolution

It has grown from small tobig and from weak to strongthrough fierce revolutionarystruggles. It has become tem-pered in battles against the en-emy forces and overcome tre-mendous odds and difficulties.It has gained rich experiencefrom which to draw lessons inorder to advance the people'swar from the strategic defensiveto the strategic stalemate infive years.

The Party has won great vic-tories in the fields of ideology,politics and organization. It hasupheld, defended and promotedMarxism-Leninism-Maoism as

the theory of the revolutionaryproletariat. It has applied thistheory on Philippine history andcircumstances in order to deter-mine the character of Philippinesociety and to draw the general political line of new democraticrevolution through protractedpeople's war. It has adhered tothe principle of democratic cen-tralism in building an organiza-

tion that is deeply rootedamong the toiling massesthroughout the country.

The Party has gainedstrength and competence inleading the Philippine revo-lution because it hasresolutely and dili-gently built itself ideologically, politi-cally and organization-ally. Criticism andself-criticism areconducted regularlyand in a timely wayin all organs andunits to identify andovercome errors andshortcomings and to

of the Party.The Party held its ground

against the opportunists andcalled for the reaffirmation of basic revolutionary principlesand the rectification of errors. Itconfronted and defeated the op-

portunists on all major issues,renewed the criticism and repu-diation of modern revisionism inview of the blatant and full-scale restoration of capitalismin revisionist-ruled countries. Itcombatted the ideas and poli-cies related to the ideological,political, economic and militaryoffensives of the US and its al-lies against the cause of nation-al liberation, democracy and so-cialism.

The SGRM held the incorrigi-ble opportunists and renegadesaccountable for gross ideologi-cal and political errors and forcrimes arising from hysterical anti-informer campaigns. Itfrustrated and defeated thewrecking operations of the op-

portunists who eventually ex-posed themselves as renegadesand special agents of the ene-my. Ideological work was inten-sified. Through vigorous efforts,the Party successfully recoveredand expanded the mass base inrural and urban areas. But cer-tain aspects and areas of workdid not get prompt and properattention until after the SGRM.

The Party was able to pre-serve itself and gain strength

under the worst condi-tions of adversity. Itwas still in the processof laying its founda-tion when Marcos im-

posed the fascistdictatorship andsought to destroythe revolutionarymovement. In thetime of the firstAquino regime, the

military campaignscalled Lambat Bitagcoincided with theopportunist lines still at work within the

T he Communist Party of the Philippines has successfully led thePhilippine revolution for over 42 years since its founding. It has

defeated all the military campaigns of suppression unleashed bythe Marcos regime to “nip the revolution in the bud” from 1969 to

1972 and the 14 years of fascist dictatorship from 1972 to 1986;and thereafter, the various campaigns of the post-Marcos regimesfrom 1986 to the present.

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tion of the classics and majorParty documents in various Phil-ippine languages, by the legal availability of these in hardcopies and on the internet indigital copies, by simplifiedstudy materials and by the use

of audio-visual media and illus-trations in hard and digital cop-ies,

The Party has consistentlypromoted the general political line of democratic revolutionthrough protracted people's warin response to the semicolonial and semifeudal conditions thathave not only persisted but alsoworsened and deepened underthe policy regime of neoliberal globalization and the global warof terror pushed by the US impe-rialists. The Party has taken upall the major political, econom-ic, social, cultural and militaryissues related to the general line of the revolution. It has de-bated with and defeated the ex-ponents of blatant counterrevo-

lution and reformism.The Party has vigorouslyaroused, organized and mobi-lized various sections of themasses to undertake variousforms of struggle against thecurrent enemy and the entireruling system. The mass move-ment has continued to perse-vere and grow in both urban andrural areas. It can grow faster

than ever as it responds to thedemands of the masses them-selves and members of mass or-ganizations are recruited in ac-cordance with easily understoodconstitutions and programs of such organizations.

There is no way for the ene-my to stop the mass organiza-tions, especially because of theworsening political and eco-nomic crisis of the ruling sys-tem. But certain mass organiza-tions and alliances have de-clined not so much because of the enemy campaigns of sup-pression but because of errorsand shortcomings of leadershipin the Party organs concerned.

The mass movement of work-ers, peasants, youth, women,professionals and other peopleis the source of Party membersand NPA fighters. It is the forceby which the masses themselvesexpress their needs, demands

and aspirations. It is the forceby which they can build and ap-preciate their own strength. Itis also the force by which vari-ous types of alliances can beformed.

The New People's Army has110 to 120 guerrilla fronts thatcover significant portions of 800municipalities in 70 provinces.The number of guerrilla frontsfluctuates because of concen-trated enemy attacks with vary-ing durations. The enemy has nocapability to concentrate at-tacks on more than 10% of theguerrilla fronts at every giventime.

To frustrate and defeat con-centrated attacks by the enemyforces, the NPA can shift its for-

ces, leave units to pin down theenemy and launch offensives atthe weakest points of the enemyelsewhere. While the enemy canconcentrate strength on lessthan 10% of the Philippines,the NPA can move around freelyin more than 90%.

The NPA continues to inte-grate the revolutionary armedstruggle with genuine land re-

form and the building of themass base and organs of politi-cal power. It is invincible be-cause it smashes the bureau-cratic military power of thestate, responds to the peasantdemand for land and realizesland reform as the main contentof the democratic revolutionand because it builds the peo-ple's democratic state of work-ers, peasants and other people.

The National DemocraticFront is effectively harmonizing17 revolutionary forces consist-ing of the Party, the NPA andthe underground revolutionarymass organizations of workers,peasants, national minorities,


Party. The Ramos and Estrada re-gimes continued the campaignsof suppression while the Partyconcentrated on the rectifica-tion movement and the recoveryof the mass base.

The Arroyo regime carried

out Oplan Bantay Laya (OBL) fornearly ten years. The victoriesgained from the SGRM servedthe revolutionary movementwell. In certain regions, the rev-olutionary forces that came un-der concentrated enemy attackbecame stronger. Others main-tained their strength to be ableto fight back in armed and legal struggles. One region was ableto surmount the whole course of OBL I but declined in botharmed and legal forms of strug-gle in the course of OBL II. Incertain regions, the revolution-ary forces grew because the en-emy military forces were sparsedue to overextension elsewhere.

Even when the enemy forceslaunched the most brutal cam-

paigns of military suppression,the Party has been able to en-gage in ideological building byundertaking courses at the pri-mary, intermediate and ad-vanced levels in many rural andurban areas. It is impossible forthe enemy to stop ideological and political studies in so manyguerrilla fronts, mountainoussites, private homes, offices and

campus grounds apart fromstudies conducted in guerrillafronts under concentrated at-tack by the enemy forces.

It is absolutely necessary tohave Party cadres and memberswho have a sufficient level of theoretical knowledge of Marx-ism-Leninism-Maoism. Theyserve as the hard core of therevolutionary movement. Thelong life and victories of theParty and the entire revolution-ary movement are assured as thenumber of Marxist-Leninist-Maoists keep on increasing.

Theoretical and political studies have been facilitatedand accelerated by the transla-

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women, youth, teachers, healthprofessionals, lawyers, scien-tists and technologists, writersand artists, the religious andother sectors. It is a unitedfront for armed struggle. At thesame time, all the revolutionary

forces have authorized it to en-gage in peace negotiationswith the reactionary govern-ment.

The peace negotiationshave dragged on because onereactionary regime after anoth-er has sought to use it in futileattempts to deceive the peo-ple, split the revolutionary for-ces and press the NDFP towardscapitulation and pacification.But the NDFP has correctly andconsistently asserted that theframework agreement, TheHague Joint Declaration, mustbe followed and that the rootsof the armed conflict must beaddressed through basic social,economic and political reformsto lay the basis for a just and

lasting peace.The Party and the NDFPhave served well the peopleand the revolutionary forces bydeclaring that the line of nego-tiations for a just peace is nodifferent from the line of strug-gle for national liberation anddemocracy. A just peace can beachieved in the following ways:the complete victory of the

armed revolution, the emer-gence of an anti-imperialist co-alition government or an anti-imperialist alliance and truce.

None of these possibilitiesis easily attainable because theenemy persists in trying to de-stroy the revolutionary move-ment of the people. The NDFPcarries on the peace negotia-tions because these provide theopportunity to articulate theprogram for a people's demo-cratic revolution, to win moreadherents to the revolution andto be open to possibilities pre-sented by the worsening crisisof the ruling system and theworld capitalist system.

IV. The new fighting tasks

The Party has taken an out-standing role in exposing andopposing the ideological, polit-ical, economic, cultural andmilitary offensives of the USand other imperialist powersabetted by the revisionist be-trayal of socialism. It has ana-lytically anticipated the resur-gence of the forces of national liberation, democracy and so-cialism as a result of the wor-sening crisis of the world capi-talist system under the policyof neoliberal globalization.

It is fine that the Party hasresolved to advance the peo-ple's war from the strategic de-

fensive to the strategic stale-mate in five years' time. Thesight of the near horizon hasaroused the optimism andheightened the vigor of therevolutionary forces as theyrise in triumph over the harshdifficulties and trials inflictedin the course of the enemy’s vi-cious Oplan Bantay Laya just asthey have triumphed over all

past similar counterinsurgencycampaigns, and rallied to pushforward and make a new leap inthe struggle, armed with deepresolve, valuable lessons andincreased strength. Inspired bytheir victories accumulated inmore than 40 years of ardentstruggle and the higher newchallenge, the Party member-ship, NPA units and revolution-ary forces are resolved to raisethe level of intensity and qual-ity of their struggle, fulfill therequisites, carry out the re-quired tasks, and advance thepeople’s war. The Party musttake advantage of the favorableconditions created by the crisis

of the world capitalist systemfor waging revolution. It mustconfront and defeat the schemeof the enemy to destroy thearmed revolution in the Philip-pines. It must make greatstrides in realizing the people'saspirations for national and so-cial liberation.

Certain requirements haveto be fulfilled in order to ad-vance the people's war. Wemust be clear about the tasksto be carried out in order tofulfill such requirements.

1. The Party must expandboldly without letting a sin-gle undesirable in. It must in-

crease its membership to an ex-tent that it has a Party branchin a majority of barangays andin every NPA company and ithas Party groups at various lev-els of mass organizations andinstitutions. It must be able torecruit Party members from theurban and rural-based mass or-ganizations as well as fromunits of the NPA.

The main source of Party re-cruits is the revolutionary massmovement. The mass organiza-tions of workers, peasants, na-tional minorities, urban poor,women, youth, migrants, pro-fessionals and others must runfar ahead of the Party in re-cruiting their own membersfrom the unorganized masses.Recruitment can be carried outin large numbers, because ac-ceptance of the constitutionand program of the mass organ-ization with patriotic and pro-gressive character suffices for arecruit to become a member.Members thus recruited takegeneral and special mass cours-

I t is an achievement of great national and world significancethat the Communist Party of the Philippines and the Filipino

people have carried forward the new democratic revolutionthrough protracted people's war for more than four decades and

in the process overcome the most vicious campaigns of suppres-sion unleashed by US imperialism and the local reactionary class-es.

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promoted to full membershipupon completion of their periodof candidature.

After the candidate-memberbecomes a full member, he/shemust take the intermediate andhigher Party courses as soon as

possible. A full Party member isexpected to become more in-spired and more active in fulfill-ing tasks within the Party andthe revolutionary mass move-ment or in any unit of the peo-ple's army.

All Party organs must contin-ually conduct assessments andsumming up of their experiencesto determine their strengths andweaknesses and draw new plansfor their work. The Central Com-mittee of the Party must requireall regional Party Committees,Commissions and similar leadingorgans to make reports and rec-ommendations on the status of the revolutionary forces in theirrespective areas and lines of work, find out from them their

strengths and weaknesses, andprovide them with guidance forenhancing their strengths andovercoming their weaknesses. Itmust require strong and well-de-veloped regions to help weakerones in augmenting cadres andresources for strengthening the

Party, the people'sarmy and people's

mass organizations

and the united front.Every higher Party or-

gan must inquire from

the organs below it what aretheir strengths and weaknessesand what are the errors andshortcomings of leadership aswell as the impact of enemycampaigns of suppression andthe interrelation of the subjec-

tive forces and the circumstan-ces.2. The Party must direct

the New People's Army to in-crease the number of full-timefighters. Every fully developedguerrilla front must have a total strength of at least one compa-ny. It should develop in stagesfrom the seed unit deployedfrom a previously existing guer-rilla front. Developing a guerril-la front entails integration of the revolutionary armed strug-gle, the agrarian revolution andbuilding the mass base and theorgans of democratic political power under the leadership of the Party.

The leadership of the Partyover the NPA is ensured with the

Central Committee and the Mili-tary Commission making thestrategic policies and plans onthe basis of reports and recom-mendations below and then is-suing the directives to the NPANational Operational Command.At every level of command are apolitical department and a po-litical officer to maintain the

dual leadership with

the commander incharge of militarycommand and oper-

ations. Every companyor platoon has a Party

branch and every squada Party group.

The units of the NPAmust be increased byfighting the enemy forces

and seizing their weapons.The NPA units must wage

only battles that they canwin. They do so by concen-trating enough strength towipe out an enemy force, us-ing such elements as surprise,favorable terrain and favora-ble conditions. They must


es to deepen their understand-ing, adherence and commitmentto the national and democraticcause. Rapid expansion of mem-bership can be realized espe-cially when these mass organi-zations are at the lead of prop-

aganda campaigns and massmobilizations of the people tofight for their immediate andstrategic aspirations.

The Party can expand easilyupon the rapid growth of themass organizations. It gives pri-ority to the recruitment of themost advanced mass activists atevery given time. Any residentof the Philippines at least 18years of age who accepts theParty Constitution and Programcan qualify immediately as acandidate-member. Within theperiod of candidature, the re-cruit is provided with the basicParty course and has the samerights and obligations as the full members, except the right tovote.

The period of candidature forworkers and peasants is sixmonths; for those of the urbanpetty bourgeoisie, one year; andfor the middle bourgeoisie, twoyears. Kabataang MakabayanCommunist Youth League mem-bers automatically become full members of the Party uponreaching the age of 18, provid-ed they have finished the basic

Party course.The Party must enforce the

provisions on Party membershipas stated in the Constitution.Any notion that thereare rules and stand-ards for membershipother than those in theConstitution must bedispelled. The long-running neglect and in-definite delay in thepromotion of candi-date-membership tofull membership mustbe rectified. Party can-didate-members must beprovided with the basic Partycourse promptly, tasked and

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give priority to battles of anni-hilation that take the form of ambuscades and raids. By anni-hilation, we mean taking awayby armed force the capability of enemy units to fight but treat-ing the captives leniently after

they are disarmed or they losethe ability to fight.The tactics of annihilation

must be complemented by tac-tics of attrition at the sure ex-pense of the enemy. The NPAmust train from the ranks of thefull-time fighters and the militiaspecial teams for reconnais-sance, sniping, producing andemploying command-detonatedexplosives and other means,with the objective of destroyingmoving and parked vehiclesused for transporting militarypersonnel, weapons, fuel andother war materiel as well asstorage facilties for these.

Enterprises that do not com-ply with the rules and regula-tions of the people's democratic

government, disregard and vio-late the welfare and interests of the people, and conduct abusiveand antagonistic actionsagainst the people must bebanned, disabled or dismantled.These include those that engagein destructive large-scale log-ging, mining and plantations forexport; plunder nonrenewableresources; ruin the environment

and take land away from landreform. The military forces andsecurity agencies protectingthese enterprises are targets forannihilation by the people's ar-my.

As a matter of revolutionarylaw and justice, those who havecommitted murder and other se-rious crimes against the peopleand the revolutionary forces, in-cluding human rights violationsand plunder, must be arrestedby the people's army and mili-tia, investigated by the people'sprosecution and tried by thepeople's court. Such criminalsare subject to the necessaryamount of force by the arresting

units if they are armed and dan-gerous, resist arrest or are pro-tected by bodyguards and unitsof the reactionary military orpolice.

The NPA must use the tacticsof concentration in order to win

the tactical offensives againsttarget enemy units. But it mustalso be vigilant against the en-emy using the same tactics of concentration. When a superiorenemy force comes looking for afight and implements a plan tooccupy an area, be it a guerrillafront or a part of it, the NPAmust be ready to use the tacticsof evasion or shifting in order toavoid being put at a disadvan-tage, to trade space for timeand to move to an advanta-geous position for conducting acounteroffensive at a later timeor at a location where the ene-my is weak. When the enemyforces set camp, the NPA mustharass and inflict damage onthem and be on the lookout for

opportunities to annihilate anyenemy unit or element goingout of the camp.

The NPA must use the tacticsof dispersal to cover a wide areafor mass work and develop awide network of mass organiza-tions, self-defense units and mi-litia against the enemy. In aguerrilla front, the NPA must al-ways maintain a relatively con-

centrated unit (e.g., a platoon)and relatively dispersed units(e.g., two platoons divisible in-to squads and propagandateams).

The NPA can carry out inten-sive and extensive guerrilla war-fare and flexibly use the tacticsof concentration, shifting anddispersal only if it has an everwidening and deepening massbase. The peasant masses areever willing to let their bestsons and daughters join thepeople's army. They are the ac-tive base and limitless source of Red fighters and resources forthe armed revolution becausethe NPA is their instrument for

fulfilling their demand for landand for realizing their economic,social and political liberation.

The NPA must promote theestablishment and developmentof the mass organizations of workers, peasants, youth, wom-

en, cultural activists and othersectors of people in the locali-ties. It must help build the or-gans of political power. Initially,these are appointive commit-tees of the people and eventual-ly elected by the representativesof the mass organizations or bythe entire community. The Partymust systematically deploy ur-ban-based mass activists to thecountryside so that they canlearn from the peasant masses,render service to the peasantcommunities and in due course

join the people's army. Partycadres and members from theranks of the workers and educat-ed youth are urgently neededfor strengthening the people'sarmy and the Party in the coun-

tryside.3. The Party must strength-en the basic alliance of theworking class and peasantry.This is the combination of theleading force and the main forceof the new democratic revolu-tion. Through the Party as theadvanced detachment, theworking class is the leadingforce because it directs the cur-

rent course of the revolution to-wards the socialist future. Thepeasantry is the main force be-cause it is the most numerousexploited class whose strugglefor land is the main content of the democratic revolution. Theproletariat and the peasantryconstitute more than 90% of the people. Their combination isindispensable and decisive forwinning the new democraticrevolution.

The basic worker-peasant al-liance must win over the urbanpetty bourgeoisie as allies in or-der to constitute the alliance of progressive forces. The National Democratic Front is the best ex-

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pression and most consolidated underground alli-ance of the workers, peasants and the urban pet-ty bourgeoisie. It must be strengthened further.The urban petty bourgeoisie is a small part of Philippine society and constitutes the lower partof the bourgeoisie. It suffers a certain degree of oppression and exploitation and it can be won

over to contribute its capabilities and influenceto the revolution.The Party must further win over the middle

bourgeoisie to cooperate with the alliance of pro-gressive forces and become active in a formal orinformal alliance of patriotic forces interested instrengthening the anti-imperialist and democrat-ic movement of the entire people. The middlebourgeoisie is interested in national industriali-zation and can understand land reform as a wayof releasing capital, expanding the domestic mar-ket and serving as the source of food and raw ma-terials for industry. The alliance of patriotic for-ces is interested in the rise of an anti-imperialistand democratic government.

The Party must be open to the broadest possi-ble alliance, which includes the reactionary forcesopposed to the enemy that is the most reaction-ary and most servile to the imperialists. Reaction-aries are temporary and unreliable allies. They

join the alliance because of their self-interest and

they are inclined to attack the revolution oncethey come into power. But alliance with them isnecessary in order to isolate and destroy the en-emy. Relative to the broadest possible alliance,the Party must maintain its independence and in-itiative and must draw benefits for the revolu-tionary movement from the conflicts of the reac-

tionaries and build its strength for eventuallyoverthrowing the entire ruling system.So far, in the history of our Party, the reac-

tionary force considered as the enemy has beenthe ruling clique. But the Party does not foreclosethe possibility of an anti-imperialist alliance andtruce with a regime in power that takes an anti-imperialist and democratic position. It considersthe GRP-NDFP peace negotiations as a way of en-couraging and stimulating the emergence of agovernment of national unity against the imperi-alists and their unrepentant puppets.

For as long as no possibility exists for such agovernment to arise, the Party and the Filipinopeople must exert all efforts to carry forward thenew democratic revolution through people's war.After we succeed in advancing from the strategicdefensive to the strategic stalemate, our task isto fully develop the strategic stalemate until theconditions are ripe for the nationwide seizure of power through the strategic offensive. ~

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