A photo posted by social media commentary giant Showbiz Government seems to show campaign paraphernalia of Bayan Muna senatorial candidate Teddy Casiño alongside weapons and explosive devices captured from the armed terrorist group the New People’s Army (NPA). The caption reads…
Assault rifles, IEDs, campaign materials of BAYAN MUNA party list and senatorial candidate Teddy A. Casiño recovered by 66th IB after an encounter with elements of NPA in Nabunturan, COMVAL…
Authentic? Or mere “black propaganda”?
The NPA is the revolutionary arm of the Communist Party of the Philippines (thus are collectively referred to by the acronym CPP-NPA). Presumably, its mission is to carry out that infamous “armed struggle” that has been the trademark of every communist movement around the world. Chairman Mao Tse-tung wrote about this “armed struggle” in 1939 (text formatted in boldface for emphasis)…
What is guerrilla warfare? It is the indispensable and therefore the best form of struggle for the people’s armed forces to employ over a long period in a backward country, a large semi-colonial country, in order to inflict defeats on the armed enemy and build up their own bases. So far both our political line and our Party building have been closely linked with this form of struggle. It is impossible to have a good understanding of our political line and, consequently, of our Party building in isolation from armed struggle, from guerrilla warfare. Armed struggle is an important component of our political line. For eighteen years our Party has gradually learned to wage armed struggle and has persisted in it. We have learned that without armed struggle neither the proletariat, nor the people, nor the Communist Party would have any standing at all in China and that it would be impossible for the revolution to triumph. In these years the development, consolidation and bolshevization of our Party have proceeded in the midst of revolutionary wars; without armed struggle the Communist Party would assuredly not be what it is today. Comrades throughout the Party must never forget this experience for which we have paid in blood.
Communists, it seems will always be at fundamental odds with any incumbent government. As such, they will likely only accept its absolute and complete destruction and, thus, makes any attempt on their part to participate “legitimately” in the institutionalised political processes of any incumbent government — such as its elections — plain and simple suspect.
Some people are quick to dismiss the linking to communists of leftist personalities like Casiño who are engaged in some sort of “legal” participation in legitimate Philippine politics as a decades-long “black propaganda” effort mounted by one government after another against left-leaning polticians. The question in my mind, however is quite simple: Why does the perception that leftists are linked to the NPA stubbornly persist? It seems noconvincing argument to support the contrary has been put forth.
The common denominator in all this is former Congressman Saturnino “Satur” Ocampo who chairs the Bayan Muna partylist in which Casiño is a member. Notably, Satur Ocampo is a co-founder of the National Democratic Front (NDF) which is widely-believed to be one of the key front orgnisations of the CPP-NPA. According to its Wikipedia entry the NDF lists as one in its 12 point program of “national liberation and democracy” an aim to “unite the people for the task of overthrowing the semicolonial and semifeudal system through a people’s war and completing the national democratic revolution.” This of course may be interpreted in various ways, but it remains consistent with the overall Maoist ideology that Philippine communists subscribe to.
The history of Philippine communists’ “legitimate participation” in mainstream Philippine politics could possibly be traced back to the rise to power of the late Corazon “Cory” Aquino, mother of current president Benigno Simeon “BS” Aquino III. A GlobalSecurity.org report suggests that the popularity of the Cory Aquino government with the people forced the NDF-CPP-NPA brass to re-evaluate its approach to “revolution”…
As a result of the world-wide known “People Power” revolution in the Philippines, the National Democratic Front (NDF) made a comprehensive analysis on the new situation in the Philippines. The new government was viewed as a fragile coalition of the right and bourgeoise liberals. However, the Aquino government has a broader power base than the Marcos regime. As such, it adopted a critical collaboration stance with the present government fielding some of its members to fill some some post in government. With this style they could penetrate the bureaucracy while waiting for the Aquino government to weaken so the NDF goal can be fulfilled.
…which brings us to the present and what looks like a cadre of “ex”-communists who appear to have dropped their AK-47s in favour of peaceful and “productive” partaking in mainstream politics.
So the question remains: Are these “leftists” in Philippine Congress really ex-communists? Or are they merely dormant ones for the time being — waiting for the right moment to strike in the same manner that “sleepers” blend into the mainstream of a society they ultimately plan to destroy someday?
As always…
Abangan ang susunod na kabanata.
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