Celebration in Toronto of the 50th Anniversary of the Communist Party of The Philippines
Message from the Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) – December 15, 2018

Comrades and Friends;

On this very auspicious occasion, the Communist Party of Canada (Marxist Leninist) brings its warmest revolutionary greetings to this national gathering in Toronto to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of the Philippines. On behalf of the Party’s National Leader Comrade Anna Di Carlo, the Party’s Central Committee and its membership, we congratulate the CPP and its leadership and all its members in The Philippines and you yourselves here in Canada for fifty years of arduous work, many achievements and many historic successes. Your leadership and your rank and file communists have shown exemplary courage and ability to prevail against all odds. May your celebrations bring you great well-deserved joy, strength and further advances in the complex times which lie ahead. 

Your example shows the necessity for a revolutionary communist vanguard Party to lead the people’s complicated struggle for national liberation to a successful conclusion. This is why you founded your Party in the sixties and fifty years of work and struggle have only further confirmed this fact.

Over these last fifty years the CPP has also been steeled by the armed struggle as well as the many-sided legal and political battles. Today in the complex national and international situation, including the fact that the U.S. imperialists continue their military and economic domination of the Philippines, and use it as a base in their striving for domination over the entire Asia-Pacific, the work of the CPP continues to be decisive.

On this occasion permit us to also congratulate the New People’s Army, founded by the CPP on March 29,1969, which is enabling the masses to exercise political power in 17 of the 18 political regions of the Philippines. Permit us to congratulate all those involved in leading the National Democratic Front of the Philippines founded on April 24, 1973 to spearhead the extra-parliamentary and parliamentary fronts of struggle. This front of work has successfully engaged successive U.S. sponsored Philippine governments in peace talks aimed at ending the almost 50 year civil war on the Islands with a just and comprehensive peace. We specifically mention today the work of the NDFP  to put forward  a Draft Comprehensive Agreement on Social and Economic Reforms (CASER), presented to the Duterte government. This framework document is a bold pro-social all-sided nation-building project that is a pre-condition for a just and lasting peace. Its measures, including land reform, termination of all onerous international treaties and free trade agreements that are an impediment to the development of an independent national economy, state investments in social programs, an independent and peaceful foreign policy and other proposals are aimed at taking the Philippines in a new direction and creating the conditions for the Philippines to be independent and self-determining, the basis of the Filipino people’s well-being and prosperity.

We also congratulate all of you and the work you do to uphold the rights of the Filipinos abroad. Close to one million Filipinos live and work in Canada under conditions of severe exploitation and abuse. They are an integral part of the Canadian working class and its fight against the anti-social offensive and for an alternative which favours the people. This work underscores the point that today the working class is international. We are one class with one program in defence of the rights of all. You can always count on our Party to support your just cause.

On this historic occasion of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of the Philippines, the Communist Party of Canada ( Marxist-Leninist) re-affirms its solidarity and warm fraternal relations with the Communist Party of the Philippines, its leadership and its members and supporters and wishes the CPP continued success in all its work.

May the relations between our parties flourish!

Long live the fraternal unity between the peoples of Canada and the Philippines!

Workers of All Countries, Unite!