II. Prospects of Revolution and Outcome of Armed Struggle
The Arroyo regime has repeatedly declared that it has no interest in peace negotiations with the NDFP and that it is determined to destroy before 2010 the revolutionary mass movement led by the CPP. In view of the intransigent position of the regime, the revolutionary forces and people cannot pursue the peace negotiations and have no choice but to defend themselves and defeat the all-out war policy of the regime.
It is out of a narrow-minded kind of self-interest that the Arroyo regime wants the civil war to continue and rage in the country. Arroyo herself has publicly admitted several times that the all-out war policy is intended to rally and unite the military and police forces under her baton and in order to gain economic and military support from the US in line with its policy of “war on terror”. She has deliberately pushed higher the level of US intervention from year to year.
There are yet no clear indications that she wants to resume the formal talks in the peace negotiations. She seems to be unaffected by the fact that the Bush war of terror (wars of aggression and global promotion of fascism) has been repudiated by the American electorate. It is very likely that the regime will continue to escalate the military and police campaigns against the people in suspected guerrilla fronts and the cowardly extrajudicial killings and abductions of unarmed progressive party list leaders, workers, peasants, women, youth, journalists, lawyers, religious and human rights activists.
Because of its fear of impeachment and conviction by Congress, the Arroyo regime is hell bent on either pushing the unconstitutional “constituent assembly” in order to cancel the 2007 elections of congressmen and senators or cheating in these elections in order to control Congress. Either way there will be political turbulence. Arroyo is determined to use violence against the opposition and the people in order to keep herself in power.
In response to the all-out war policy and Oplan Bantay Laya of the regime, the CPP, NPA, NDFP and the broad masses of the people have resolutely and militantly fought back. They have issued publications (see www.philippinerevolution.net) informing us that they have been able to frustrate the military and police campaigns of the regime and to launch various forms of tactical offensives within the strategy of defense. They are successfully waging an intensive and extensive guerrilla warfare based on an ever widening and deepening mass base. They have seized more arms from their enemy, often without firing a single shot. They are therefore increasing the number of their fighting units and are forming more guerrilla fronts, organs of political power and mass organizations.
They are becoming stronger from year to year. They can contribute significantly to the ouster of the Arroyo regime before 2010 or they can at least help ensure that the Arroyo regime is finished in 2010. They expect to deliver the hardest blows on the worst rascals of the regime as these become more brutal and vicious but are fast weakening or about to exit from political power. They look forward to resume the formal talks in the peace negotiations with a new regime, especially because this will be a product of the struggle against the Arroyo regime by a broad united front of patriotic forces and by the broad masses of the people.
III. Direction of the Filipino People in 2010
The Filipino people will demand more strongly than ever before that reforms be made to advance national independence, democracy, social justice, all-round development and peace. By then, the socio-economic and political crisis of the ruling system shall have become worse, despite the loss of power by the Arroyo ruling clique. The reforms can be arrived at and implemented through peace negotiations between the revolutionary movement and a government that is more enlightened and more reasonable than the present one. Otherwise oppression and exploitation will persist at intolerable levels. Thus, the revolutionary forces and people will continue to wage armed revolution for national liberation and democracy against US imperialism and its local lackeys.
