On the occasion of the 51st anniversary of The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), we wish to extend militant greetings to the NDFP allied organizations, especially to the fighting Filipino masses whose unwavering spirit and determination to achieve genuine national liberation and democracy serve as the eternal wellspring of our revolutionary strength.
Looming threat of inter-imperialist war in the region
This year, the Filipino people and the revolutionary forces face the real threat of inter-imperialist armed confrontation because of US war provocations against China. Maneuvers like the ongoing Balikatan war games, the biggest in Philippine history, intend to transform the Philippine archipelago into a forward military base where the US can station its military personnel, warships, anti-aircraft weapons and other war materiel. The Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) serves as a lynchpin in US efforts to solidify its foothold in Philippine territory, providing a legal framework for increased military presence and access to strategic islands to encircle China. The continued presence of US troops in the country directly undermines national sovereignty and casts a persistent threat on the lives of the Filipino masses.
In the past few weeks, US military officials and top security officers have visited the Philippines including State Secretary Anthony Blinken undoubtedly to ensure the continued subservience of the puppet Marcos Jr. regime and the fascist Armed Forces of the Philippines to US war designs in the region. The Armed Forces of the Philippines’ so-called “supply missions” to the BRP Sierra Madre, a grounded Philippine navy ship deliberately stationed near disputed territories in the South China Sea, serve as a calculated move by the US in its broader game of geopolitical brinkmanship. While ostensibly framed as routine military operations, these “supply missions” are integral in the US strategy of subtly provoking China into taking aggressive action that could justify escalated US military involvement in the region. In such circumstances, the US plans to invoke the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) it has with the Philippines as its “free pass” to use armed action against China.
More recently, the trilateral summit between the US, Japan and the Philippines also revealed Biden’s pernicious intentions to rally its allies in Asia to support its containment strategy. Unsurprisingly, Marcos Jr. willingly served the Filipino people on a silver platter to its US imperialist master, dragging the Philippines in the middle of a brewing hot war with China.
The US continues to provoke armed tension with China through the implementation of its first island chain strategy that spans the entirety of the Kuril Islands, Japan, Ryukyu Islands, Taiwan, Northern Philippines, and Borneo. By conducting large-scale military exercises near China’s doorstep, the US deliberately antagonizes China. These actions serve no constructive purpose other than an attempt to assert military dominance in the region and as part of deepening fissures in another attempt to redivide the world amid a prolonged period of global economic stagnation.
Chronic crisis of the semifeudal and semicolonial system
On top of the looming threat of a US-China war, the Filipino masses are subjected to worsening economic conditions as the chronic crisis of the semifeudal and semicolonial system intensifies. Peasant struggles against land monopoly rise to its boiling point as they face armed security forces and goons hired by the landed class as in the case of Lupang Tartaria in Silang, Cavite. Even amid the drought induced by El Niño, the reactionary government continues to demonstrate its systematic and criminal neglect of farmers by not providing substantial aid and support for the masses ravaged by widespread water shortages and hunger.
The Filipino working class on the other hand suffer increased exploitation through varying schemes of illegal dismissal such as forced leaves, floating status, furlough, on-call basis, and other forms of flexible working arrangements meant only to extract super profits from their labor power. The cost-of-living crisis continues to rear its head as wages remain depressed despite sky-rocketing prices of basic goods and services. Jeepney drivers face the threat of Public Utility Vehicle (PUV) modernization and forced franchise consolidation – schemes that aim to replace the traditional jeepney with modern counterparts from foreign manufacturers at the expense of the livelihoods of drivers and operators.
The persistent grip of poverty, joblessness, and landlessness serves as a crucible for discontent and the continuing basis of the more than 50-year civil war in the Philippines. These objective conditions brought by the intensifying crisis of the semifeudal and semicolonial ruling system lead more and more of the Filipino toiling masses to take up arms and wage people’s war in the countryside.
The fighting Filipino masses persist
Despite the consecutive onslaughts of economic crises and the threat of war, the Filipino fighting masses remain persistent in the struggle for national liberation and democracy. We take this moment to exhort the successes of the NDFP allied organizations in building the basic unity of the peasant and working class, while consolidating the interests of other democratic sectors of Philippine society through the building of revolutionary organs of political power in the countryside.
Establishing Red political power in thousands of villages across the archipelago with the support of the New People’s Army (NPA) and under the leadership of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), the revolutionary movement has laid the groundwork for a people’s democratic government, electing officers through village assemblies and the formation of revolutionary mass organizations in the countryside.
In the urban areas, NDFP allied organizations promote the workers’ struggles, the struggle for human rights and political work within reactionary institutions. They join the masses in campaigning against US imperialist warmongering and militarization that threaten the lives of the Filipino people. Abroad, the NDFP allied organizations continue to make strides in organizing overseas Filipinos in support of the Filipino people’s liberation struggle.
As the most consolidated united front organization of basic revolutionary forces and the genuine representative of the fighting Filipino masses, the NDFP garners increasing international acknowledgment and solidarity from various nations and communities. Indeed, the NDFP’s international work has allowed us to develop international ties abroad and foster mutually beneficial cooperation with various parties, individuals, organizations, and governments in support of the Philippine revolution.
On the firm foundation of the 51 years of glorious revolutionary struggle and the resurgence that inevitably follows rectification, we are confident of winning more battles in the years to come until we achieve complete victory in the struggle for national and social liberation.
#NDFP51
#Maghimagsik51
(sgd.)
Luis Jalandoni, NDFP Chief International Representative
