The revolutionary movement in Camarines Norte resumed the publication of Alipato as a propaganda and organizing tool of the New People’s Army (NPA) units in the province. The Provincial Party Committee decided to relaunch the revolutionary mass publication in June 2024.
This decision is the result of the committee’s all-out efforts to highlight local economic and political issues, mass struggles, and expose the 16th and 81st IB units’ violence and fascism against the CamNorteño masses. The committee said it seeks to use a thousand and one methods and more to advance the people’s war.
According to the Alipato editors, they immediately began the process of forming the newspaper after the decision to relaunch it. The writing of articles, gathering of correspondents, and production of the newspaper took only about two weeks. They managed to accomplish this amid the guerrilla maneuvers of the NPA unit, in which they belong to.
The June issue had 10 sections. The Alipato editorial called on the CamNorteño masses to end poverty and join the people’s war. It featured news on the NPA-Camarines Norte units’ military actions, human rights violations by the Marcos regime’s armed forces, cooperation between the masses and the army, and other local issues. It also included sections on medical advice, trivia, and puzzles.
“Along with the revival of Alipato, we are also reorganizing its local production and circulation,” the comrades shared regarding the newspaper’s distribution system. They aim to provide a copy to every Party member in the locality and subsequently to members of mass organizations in each barangay.
Along with the relaunch of Alipato, the provincial propaganda unit also strives to strengthen their presence on social media to disseminate their articles online. From their experiences, members observe that their social media presence helped spark relative interest among the masses in areas not yet reached by armed units.
Alipato was first published in 1988 as a result of successive anti-feudal campaigns. It published the organized unity of peasants and the army amid the intensifying feudal rule of the province’s landlords in collusion with local government officials in the 1980s.
The pages of Alipato reported how the masses applauded the NPA’s punishment of despotic landlords in the province. It also published the story of the spontaneous resistance of peasants and citizens against foreign mining in 1981.
In the following decades, Alipato became a primary herald of the revolutionary movement’s successes in the province, serving as an inspiration to further strengthen the spirit and resolve of the masses to fight and struggle. The regular publication of Tilamsik ng Dakilang Apoy, the revolutionary cultural journal of Camarines Norte, also supported the newspaper in the field of propaganda.
The unit currently plans to release an issue of Alipato every quarter. In addition, they also plan to publish special issues when needed. “Alipato is open to continuous improvement and commentary. We expect… that this will contribute to [overall propaganda efforts],” the editorial board stated.
Alipato joins many other revolutionary mass publications from the local, provincial, regional, and national levels published by the Party, NPA units, and allied organizations of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines. These publications serve as material to strengthen the revolutionary movement nationwide.
