It has always been the tradition of the reactionary state to annually celebrate what they call “National Independence Day.” Following the deceptive rhetoric of the US, its local lackeys continue to propagate the myth that the Philippines has been granted independence from colonizers and that, to this day, the Filipino people enjoy it. However, for the broad Filipino masses—the proletariat, the peasantry, the youth, and women—this date marks the formalization of a grand deception. Almost 13 decades after that declaration, the Philippines remains deeply entangled in the grip of US imperialism, operating as a semi-colony in political and military terms, and as a semi-feudal society in its economic foundation.
This illusion of freedom is most glaring in our political arena. Elections are conducted merely to pacify the masses and provide a veneer of democratic legitimacy to the rule of big compradors and landlords. In reality, choices for the country’s highest office are vetted and determined by the United States.
The installation of another Marcos to the presidency is the latest manifestation of this colonial subservience. US imperialism favors and utilizes the Marcos clique, just as it has manipulated, sustained, or discarded every single puppet president before him, ensuring that whoever sits in Malacañang remains fiercely loyal to the geopolitical dictates of the imperialist US.
This political subjugation serves to maintain an exploitative economic system. Under the destructive framework of neoliberalism, the Marcos-Duterte administration continues to surrender the economic sovereignty of the Philippines. The enforcement of zero-tariff policies for foreign commodities has turned our homeland into a dumping ground for surplus capital and goods, crippling local production and devastating the agricultural sector. Furthermore, the 99-year land lease policy swallows our ancestral lands and exploits our natural resources.
Instead of building a self-reliant economy driven by genuine land reform and national industrialization, the reactionary state deliberately keeps the country backward and non-industrial, adhering strictly to the demands of the US.
Compounding this economic bondage is the aggressive transformation of the entire archipelago into a forward operating base for US geopolitical ambitions. Recently, the US-Marcos II regime entered into a military initiative called “Pax Silica,” which aims to secure US supply and control over vital and rare minerals used in manufacturing, military equipment, and warfare technology. In line with this, the US plans to occupy 1,620 hectares for its “economic security zone” in New Clark City, Pampanga wherein foreign companies operating within the area are granted “immunity” from the Philippine law. Likewise, the US is given extra-territorial rights over our land.
Moreover, our shores and mountains are being exploited in the name of war games. We must not turn a blind eye to their recent missile launches, which endanger the Filipino people, most especially those in Tacloban City. This dual-use tactic, which embeds military troops within civilian infrastructure, places a target on the backs of civilians.
To sustain this systemic treason, the ruling class relies on an educational and cultural apparatus designed to dull the critical faculties of our people. Ever since the arrival of the first American colonial teachers, the educational system has been weaponized to systematically cultivate a colonial mentality. It teaches submissiveness, promotes capitalist individualism, and obscures the rich history of the Filipino people’s revolutionary resistance. This cultural conditioning serves as the ideological anchor keeping the masses blind to their own exploitation.
The current crisis of the semi-colonial and semi-feudal system is worsening at an unprecedented rate. The suffering of the masses intensifies as inflation rises, landlessness worsens, and fascism escalates to protect foreign interests.
In response to these intolerable conditions, the ultimate task of all patriotic, progressive, and revolutionary forces is clear: we must fiercely strengthen the national democratic revolution with a socialist perspective. We must vigorously wage the people’s war, combine it with vibrant mass movements in the cities, and build the broadest united front to overthrow the rule of imperialism, feudalism, and bureaucrat capitalism.
Only by thoroughly dismantling the semi-colonial and semi-feudal structure can we achieve genuine national liberation and democracy, paving the path toward a bright socialist future.
Down with US Imperialism!
Long Live the National Democratic Revolution!
Victory to the Working and Tilling Masses!
