Seize the initiative in all forms of struggle and intensify the offensive against the enemy

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Pahayagan ng Partido Komunista ng PilipinasPinapatnubayan ng Marxismo-Leninismo-Maoismo ANG

Special IssueDecember 26, 2012

www.philippinerevolution.net

Message of the Central Committee

of the Communist Party of the Philippines

26 December 2012

With utmost joy, we celebrate the 44th an-niversary of the reestablishment of theCommunist Party of the Philippines on

the theoretical foundation of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism and the resumption of the people's demo-

cratic revolution under the correct leadership of the Party against US imperialism and the local ex-ploiting classes of big compradors and landlords.

We salute and commend all Party cadres andmembers for their hard work, militant struggle andsacrifices. We congratulate them for contributingto the victories that the Party and the people havewon in the revolutionary struggle. We render thehighest tribute to our martyrs and heroes and wethank them deeply for their selfless service and ev-

erlasting inspira-tion.

We have accumulated victories in building theParty ideologically, politically and organizational-ly. We have prevailed over major errors andshortcomings in the historical background of theParty through the First Great Rectification Move-ment in the late 1960s and in the decade of the1980s and early 1990s through the Second GreatRectification Movement in most of the 1990s.

Since the beginning of last year, we have

scored victories in further building the Party, theNew People's Army, the National DemocraticFront, the organs of political power and mass or-ganizations; as well as in carrying out the strate-gic plan to advance from the strategic defensive tothe strategic stalemate in our people's war.

We have exposed the US-Aquino regime as be-ing no different from the US-Arroyo regime interms of puppetry, exploitativeness, corruption,brutality and mendacity. We have effectively com-

bated and frustrated the enemy campaigns of mil-itary suppression and deception under the US-de-

signed Oplan Bayanihan and we have gainedstrength in the process. The people and

their organized forces are more thanever determined to deliver lethal

blows on the weak points of theenemy and score greater victo-ries.

The worsening crisis of the

capitalist system and that of thedomestic ruling system are in-

creasingly favorable conditionsfor waging the people's war and

for strengthening the revolutionaryforces and the people. We are highly

confident of bringing the people's war for-ward to the stage of strategic stalemate.

Seize the initiative in all formsof struggle and intensify the offensiveagainst the enemy



2 ANG BAYAN December 26, 2012

I. Crisis of global capitalism protractsand worsens

Since its inception, the neoliberal economic policy has intensifiedthe exploitation of the working people and has accelerated the

concentration and centralization of capital in the hands of the mo-nopoly bourgeoisie and its financial oligarchy. It has never solvedthe problem of stagnation and market, financial and fiscal volatilityand meltdowns but has aggravated these further.

It has run into more than ahundred serious financial andeconomic crises through threedecades, culminating in the cri-sis that has sprung out since2007-2008 when the US housingbubble burst and major financialinstitutions collapsed right atthe centers of global capitalism.Since then, the economic and fi-nancial crisis has protractedand deepened. The worst eco-nomic depression since theGreat Depression has descendedupon the world.

No solution to the crisis is in

sight, especially because the im-perialist states and the monopo-ly bourgeoisie continue to clingto the neoliberal economic poli-cy and still enjoy the benefits of making profits and accumulatingcapital through liberalization,privatization, deregulation andthe de-nationalization of lessdeveloped economies, especially

the underdeveloped ones.Public funds meant to revive

the economy first pass throughthe labor-saving and profit mak-ing processes of the banks andmonopoly firms. Thus produc-tion stagnates and the high rateof unemployment remains. In-comes are depressed for 99% of the population. And yet the pri-

ces of basic goods and servicesare soaring.

All the centers of global cap-italism are afflicted by andmired in crisis. The fundamentalcontradictions between capitaland labor have become conspic-uous at the level of states. Pub-

lic funds are used to bail out thebanks and monopoly firms whichcontinue to be rewarded withtax cuts and high-profit con-tracts.

Upon the rise of public defi-cits and the public debt, statesadopt and implement policiesthat pass the burden of crisis tothe proletariat and the rest of the people such as austeritymeasures. These measurescause further lay-offs, wage de-creases, rising prices of basicnecessities, reduced pensions,lessened social benefits and tax

hikes on goods and servicesused by the working people.

The people resist throughstrikes and mass protests, aswell demonstrated by the recentEurope-wide general strike andprevious major strikes in most of the imperialist countries. Theclass struggle of the proletariatis steadily coming to the fore as

the workers stand up and act todefend their rights and inter-ests, whether or not the existingunions agree.

The conditions have becomefavorable for the resurgence of the working class movementagainst capitalism and for so-cialism. But the monopoly bour-geoisie and their political agents

are still very much ahead in un-dertaking measures to counterthe current of people’s resist-ance through violence and de-ception. They have adopteddraconian laws against the peo-ple in the name of anti-terror-ism.

They are also whipping upwar hysteria to justify increasedwar production and higher mili-tary budgets. To distract atten-tion from the roots of the crisis,they stir up such reactionarycurrents as fascism, chauvinism,xenophobia, racism and reli-gious bigotry.

The proletariat and peoplesof the underdeveloped countriessuffer the most from the globaldepression. The demand for rawmaterial and semi-manufac-tured exports has decreased orsome of these are being export-ed in greater volume but at low-

er prices. At the same time, theprices of imported manufacturesare rising. Trade deficits growand foreign debt mounts.

The economic crisis has re-sulted in the escalation of ex-ploitation. The working peopleand the middle social strata suf-fer from intolerably high unem-ployment rates, real wage re-

ductions, lower income levels,soaring prices of basic goodsand services and the deteriora-tion and higher costs of socialservices, such as education,health, low-income housing andthe like. The conditions of masspoverty have worsened.

This has led to widespreadsocial unrest. The people's re-

sistance has taken variousforms. Those in power repre-senting the exploiting classesare quick to use violence to in-timidate the people and sup-press their resistance. Theyfind it convenient to adopt thelanguage and force of the US-designed war on terror.

The so-called Arab spring in

North Africa and the MiddleEast spread like wildfire andtoppled despotic governmentswhich have been held responsi-ble for the economic crisis, cor-ruption and repression. Con-flicts continue between reac-tionary and progressive forces.




In all the underdeveloped re-gions of the world, the entire Af-rica, West Asia, Central Asia,South Asia, East Asiaand Latin America,mass protests arespreading and inten-sifying.

Blatantly pro-imperialistgovernments are being con-demned and repudiated bythe people. Governmentslike those of Cuba, Venez-uela and the Democratic Peo-ple's Republic of Korea havetheir people's support becausethey assert national independ-

ence and oppose imperialism;and because they work hard tolook after the welfare of thepeople.

Where the US and NATO al-lies have unleashed wars of ag-gression to bring down govern-ments that reject US dictation,such as in Iraq, Afghanistan,Libya, Yugoslavia and Syria, the

most intense forms of armedconflict occur; and even afterthe overthrow of the anti-USgovernment, movements for na-tional liberation persevere andserve as long-term challenges toimperialist power.

Long-running armed strug-gles for national liberation, suchas those in Colombia, the Philip-

pines, India, Turkey and Kurdis-tan, are persevering and provingto the whole world that armedrevolution can be waged and cangrow in strength under currentconditions. The Palestinian peo-ple have persisted in wagingtheir decades-long struggle fornational liberation and for theirreturn to their homeland with

broad international supportagainst the brutal Zionist ag-gression and occupation backedby US imperialism. All these con-tinue to prove that the US andNATO do not have a seamlesscontrol over the entire world.

Due to the grossly uneven

development of global capitalism, imperialist

hegemony has many weakpoints, especially in the under-

developed countries whose peo-ple suffer the most from imperi-alism and local reaction. Thecurrent global crisis and theoverextension of the US in warsof aggression and in military in-terventions are favorable condi-tions for advancing the revolu-tionary struggle of the op-pressed peoples and nations.

So far, the imperialist pow-ers have maintained amicablerelations among themselves andhave avoided becoming openlyhostile to each other in theireconomic and political competi-tion. They have succeeded in do-ing so by uniting against under-developed countries which theyexploit on a multilateral basis

under the auspices of the Inter-national Monetary Fund (IMF),World Bank and the WorldTrade Organization (WTO). Acrucial feature of the neoliberalpolicy of “free market” globali-zation is the denationalizationof the economies of these un-derdeveloped countries.

The imperialist powers builttheir own unity on the previousanticommunist and anti socialistalliance during the Cold War.Since the restoration of capital-ism in former socialist countries,the traditional imperialist pow-ers have simply integrated suchcountries into the world capital-

ist system. Russia and Chinahave themselves grown into bigpowers and are cramping thespace for mutual accommoda-tion among the imperialist pow-ers.

It is inherent to thecapitalist system for im-

perialist powers to be alwaysengaged in a struggle for a re-division of the world and to ex-pand their respective economicterritory as sources of cheap la-bor and raw materials, as mar-kets, fields of investment andspheres of influence.

While avoiding direct hostili-

ty among themselves, the impe-rialist powers manifest differentpositions regarding US imperial-ist aggression and also engagein proxy wars by backing differ-ent sides in civil wars or incross-border wars in underde-veloped countries. In Africa to-day, particularly Sudan, Somal-ia, Kenya, Nigeria and DR Con-

go, the US and other imperialistpowers engage in proxy wars.

The crisis is generatingsharp contradictions among theimperialist powers. In the warsof aggression against Iraq andAfghanistan, Russia and Chinawent along with and even assist-ed the US-NATO alliance. Butsince then, they have become

wary and have organized theShanghai Cooperation Organi-zation to countervail the US andthe NATO. They have shown re-luctance in backing up the US-NATO wars of aggression in Lib- ya and now more so in Syria.

On its own account, the UShas become wary of China be-coming a challenge to US he-

gemony in East Asia and is benton overseeing and influencingmajor developments in China,such as the further privatizationof state-owned enterprises andthe liberalization of the Chinesepolitical system. Thus, the UShas decided to refocus militarily




on the region even as it remainsbogged down in a number of trouble spots in the Middle Eastand Africa. It has used its alliesand puppets in the East Asia re-gion to stir up diplomatic ten-sion over the sea between Chinaand its neighbors; and to justifythe increase of US military for-ces in the region.

In the meantime, the USmaintains its close economic co-operation with China and is fur-ther pushing China to privatizeits strategic state-owned enter-prises and sell out to the US andother multinational firms. At

the same time, the US is projec-ting a strong military presenceby launching successive jointmilitary exercises in Korea, Ja-pan, Philippines and other Asiancountries surrounding China toserve as a constant reminder tothe “communists” (bureaucratcapitalists) in power that theyshould moderate their national-

ism and compromise with a pro-US democracy movement. USstrategists calculate that mili-tary encirclement can induceChina to follow US wishes to fur-

ther denationalize its economyand further liberalize its politi-cal system.

At any rate, social unrest isrampant and is on the rise inChina as a result of the declineof its export-oriented economy.While 1% of China's population-has become as rich as the upper-most class in advanced capital-ist countries, 99% of the popula-tion mostly suffer in poverty.The broad masses of the peopleoppose and decry the corrup-tion, inflation, rising unemploy-ment, the withholding of wages,the grabbing of land from peas-

ants and the degradation of theenvironment. The outbreaks of mass protests have leaped fromthe level of 80,000 to 280,000.

The Maoists in China arestriving hard to provide leader-ship to the widespread out-bursts of social unrest and tosee what advantages the peoplecan gain from the potential

clash of the forces that are us-ing the slogans of nationalismand liberal democracy.

With overweening arro-gance, the US imperialists seek

to enhance US hegemony overEast Asia. They need to be re-minded of their resounding de-feats in China, Korea and Indo-china following the end of WorldWar II. So far, China has heldits ground in political disputeswith the US. The US has alsofailed to bend the DPRK to itswishes and has failed to destroythe people's war for national lib-eration and democracy in thePhilippines since 1969.

The world is in turmoil due tothe bankruptcy of the neoliberaleconomic policy and the gravecrisis of the world capitalist sys-

tem. So far, we have seen thegrowing mass unrest in the in-dustrial capitalist countries andalso in the underdevelopedcountries. We have also seenthe wars of aggression that theUS imperialists have launched inthe Baltic, Middle East and Afri-ca. A further spread of the tur-moil to China and East Asia due

to US machinations would pres-ent greater opportunities to theFilipino people and revolution-ary forces for carrying their rev-olutionary cause forward.

II. The rotten ruling system is tottering

The US-directed Aquino ruling clique came topower through automated electoral cheating,

mass media manipulation, and massive funding bybig compradors and landlords. It continues to be-lieve that it can ride over the grave economic andsocial crisis of the ruling system by depending onthe inflow of foreign investments and loans and byfalse claims of good governance and a robust econ-omy, pretenses at combating corruption andthrough a ceaseless stream of publicity gimmicks,slanted news reports and manipulated poll sur-veys.

Aquino's propaganda machine is secretly man-aged by US and other foreign psy-war experts. Itis operated by long-time hacks in the bourgeoismass media and pseudo-Left operatives also work-ing for US intelligence.

The harsh economic and social conditions

speak louder than any of Aquino's triumphant dec-larations of “inclusive growth” Mass poverty isconspicuous both in urban and rural areas. Thesurplus population from rural areas move to urbanareas, competing for odd jobs, expanding the slumareas and occupying spaces under bridges, in pub-lic markets and squares and along roads and rail-ways.

The regime brazenly lies by claiming an eco-nomic growth rate of more than 7%. This is madeup mostly of bloated figures of import-dependentconsumption, upscale private construction andservice sector activities. Agriculture and manu-facturing have declined and unemployment has in-creased. The regime also lies by claiming an unem-ployment rate of only 7%, which is far less than therate of 23% in the European Union. Even the pro-Aquino Social Weather Survey states a rate of 25-



5ANG BAYAN December 26, 2012

30% percent, more than fourtimes the regime's claim.

The statistics of the regimegrossly understate adverse soci-oeconomic figures. Big masslay-offs have occurred from year to year since 2008 in allsectors of the economy, espe-cially in low-valued semi-manu-facturing, which is adversely af-fected by the economic down-turn in the industrial capitalistcountries. Since the Asian fi-nancial crisis of 1997, Phil-ippine-based semi-manu-facturing has become amere satellite of China-

based final reassembly.The much-vaunted in-

crease of employment in thebusiness call centersdoes not make up forthe mass lay-offs inmany other economicsectors. Private con-struction is still ap-parently booming but

has reached a precari-ous near-bust situationafter years of buildingan overcapacity of of-fice and residentialtowers financed by for-eign commercial loans.The public infrastruc-ture projects under theso-called Public-Private

Partnership Program haveslowed down, despite reportedlarge appropriations, becausebehind the scene Aquino's closerelatives are still trying to en-large their cut from the con-tractors. Fund releases for projects are likely to speed up in thefirst half of 2013 to influencethe May congressional and local

elections.Mining operations of big for-eign companies, which the re-gime is promoting and protect-ing, provide a negligible amountof employment and engage ingross tax avoidance (includingthe large scale smuggling of

gold, silver and other preciousmetals out of the country). Itinvolves mainly open pit miningand heavy use of chemicals for arapid plunder of natural resour-ces, causing massive devasta-tion of the environment. It fur-ther results in ethnocide of theindigenous people, deforesta-tion, soil erosion, severe floodsand droughts, siltation and poi-soning of rivers and destructionof agricultural land. The mas-sive export of mineral ores pre-empts future industrialization of the country. State security for-ces are being unleashed against

minority peoples and othersectors resisting and pro-testing these operations,

resulting in increasedattacks, extra-judicialkillings, enforced dis-

appearances, arrestsand other human rights vio-lations being committedwith impunity.

The expansion of plan-tations for fruit exportand biofuel productionis prejudicing domesticstaple food production,

long upset and dam-aged under the neo-liberal policy of re-

moving agricultural subsidiesand allowing food imports with

little or without tariff. Alto-gether, the expansion of mining,logging and plantations lessenthe land for domestic food pro-duction and for land reform.

The export of people for mi-grant work abroad is a clearproof of the scarcity of job op-portunities and the lack of na-tional industrialization in the

country. The global depressionand the growing turmoil and ris-ing discrimination against mi-grant workers in host countriesindicate a dismal future for theexport of cheap labor. Throughall the years, the high bureau-crats and big compradors have

made sure that the foreign ex-change remitted by migrantworkers to the Philippines isused to promote the consump-tion of imported goods ratherthan fund national industrializa-tion.

The Philippine economy re-mains agrarian, pre-industrial,underdeveloped and semifeudal.The ruling system of big com-pradors and landlords preventsnational industrialization andland reform. While income fromthe export of raw materials andsemi-manufactures has taken adive, the cost of importing basic

necessities and luxury goods forthe exploiting classes hassoared. The trade deficit keepson rising and so does the accu-mulated foreign debt and annualdebt service. Foreign debt hasreached the level of US$ 72.22billion but the regime tries todownplay this by making falseboasts of lending to the Interna-

tional Monetary Fund US$ 1 bil-lion. The Aquino brag that thePhilippines contributed to ef-forts bail out the debt-crisis rid-den Eurozone countries, is actu-ally a spin on the obligation of member countries to invest inthe IMF.

Under the current crisis con-ditions, the US-Aquino regime is

escalating the exploitation andoppression of the toiling massesof workers and peasants andeven the middle social strata.Women, youth and children suf-fer most from the deterioratingconditions. But with its twistedlogic, the regime spreads thepropaganda that the people'sresistance--not foreign monopo-

ly capitalism, domestic feudal-ism and bureacrat capitalism--isthe cause of underdevelopment,poverty and crisis.

Under conditions of a de-pressed economy and increasingbureaucratic corruption, thePhilippine reactionary govern-




ment is weighed down by budg-etary deficits and public debt.Despite this, the US-Aquino re-gime gives priority to expendi-tures for debt service, the mili-tary, the so-called ConditionalCash Transfer program and oth-er counterproductive activities.At the same time, the regimehas been carrying out an unpro-claimed austerity policy at theexpense of the people by layingoff government employees,pressing down wages and cut-ting back on expenditures forsocial services, especiallyhealth, education and low-cost

housing.Under the current crisis con-

ditions, the US-Aquino regime isescalating the exploitation andoppression of the toiling massesof workers and peasants andeven the middle social strata.The women, youth and childrensuffer most the deterioratingconditions. But with its twisted

logic, the regime spreads thepropaganda that the people'sresistance—not foreign monopo-ly capitalism, domestic feudal-ism and bureaucrat capitalism—is the cause of underdevelop-ment, poverty and crisis.

Corruption is rampant un-der the Aquino regime.At the highest level,

some of the presi-dent's sisters andb r o th e r s- i n - l a wand Aquino andCojuangco unclesand cousins takecuts from bigbusiness projects requiringpresidential approval and loansfrom government financial insti-

tutions. They favor contractorsclose to the Aquino and Coju-angco families. They facilitatetechnical smuggling which nowaverages US$19 billion annualy,six-times larger than the US$3billion annual average duringthe time of Estrada and Arroyo,

according to findings of the IMFDirection on Trade Statistics.Aquino fudges statistics boost-ing agricultural production toconceal increased rice sumug-gling by big traders under theprotection of high governmentofficials. The regime uses stricttax enforcement as threats tointimidate and bend Aquino op-ponents even as it condones themassive tax evasion of LucioTan, Eduardo Cojuanco and oth-er big funders of the Aquinoelectoral campaign.

Even jueteng has not es-caped the clutches of Aquino. A

close associate of his has beenexposed by an archbishop as theAquino connection to the juet-eng magnates. The Anti-Pover-ty Commission is chaired by along-time NGO racketeer and USintelligence asset and misappro-priates government funds asproven by a Commission on Au-dit report. The Conditional Cash

Transfer program, includingboth the Pantawid Pamilya andthe so-called PAMANA develop-ment and rehabilitation fund, isin fact a slush fund for politick-ing and for counterinsurgency

campaign, and has becomea scandalous feeding

trough for bureau-cratic corruption.

Despite the expo-sure of cor-ruption inthis dole-

out program, itsfunding is being

increased to PhP49 bil-lion.The high rate of unemploy-

ment, the decline of incomes for

the toiling masses and the mid-dle social strata, the rising costof basic goods and services, andthe deterioration and rising costof social services are generatingsocial unrest all over the coun-try. The Aquino regime does notaddress these and their root

causes but tries in vain to ob-scure them by using the massmedia and poll surveys to dis-tract the public. Worst of all,the regime wantonly uses stateviolence against workers onstrike and the people engaged inpeaceful mass protests.

The worst forms of violenceare being perpetrated by the re-actionary armed forces underthe US-designed and directedOplan Bayanihan to suppressthe people, especially the work-ers, peasants and the nationalminorities. Human rights viola-tions like enforced disappearan-

ces, illegal detention, tortureand extrajudicial killings arerampant and victimize leadersof the toiling masses, social ac-tivists and human rights defend-ers. Children are being illegallyarrested, detained and mur-dered and then misrepresentedas child soldiers to malign theNPA. On a wide scale, homes of

the urban poor are being demol-ished to make way for real es-tate developers. In the country-side, military campaigns areused to force the evacuationand eviction of peasants and na-tional minorities to benefit land-grabbing private enterprises,big bureaucrats and military of-ficers.

Since the beginning, the US-Aquino regime has condoned thehuman rights violations underits predecessor US-Arroyo re-gime and has thus further em-boldened the military, police,paramilitary forces and militaryassets to commit even worse hu-man rights violations. Not a sin-gle military officer or perpetra-

tor has been prosecuted or con-victed for human rights viola-tions, despite the strong evi-dence in many cases. Impunityreigns. Officers who are sup-posed to have command respon-sibility are themselves the crim-inals, cover up their crimes and




even get promoted more rapidly.The issuance of an arrest war-rant for the butcher general Pal-paran is a mere token and hasnot resulted in his arrest simplybecause he is being protected bythe military. Moreover, Aquinohas callously appointed thecolonel responsible for theforced disappearance of JonasBurgos to general and to the po-sition of ISAFP chief.

The recent creation of an in-ter-agency committee touted asthe superbody on human rightson top of the existing PhilippineHuman Rights Commission is

one more publicity gimmick. Thecommittee is an additionalgadget of the regime for white-washing human rights violationsby the reactionary armed for-ces, police and military. Thecommittee is composed of thesecretaries of the DND, DILG,the AFP chief of staff and thePNP. The committee is headed

by the secretary of the Depart-ment Of Juatice and is dominat-ed by the secretaries of the De-partment of National Defenseand Department of Interior andLocal Government, the AFP chief of staff and the chief of thePhilippine National Police. It isno different from Arroyo's Pres-idential Task Force on Political

Violence .Despite the strong clamor

and public attention, the trial of the Ampatuans and their accom-plices for the flagrant massacreof 58 people, including 34 jour-nalists, has yet to get off theground. The main concern of Aquino is to be able to view thetrial on television. He has not

paid attention to the fact thatthe trial is designed to run for aslong as 200 years.

The economic and social cri-sis generates a political crisis of the ruling system. However atthe moment, it appears that allmajor political parties and coali-

tions of factions of the exploit-ing classes are happily united inserving the interests of the USand the exploiting classes and inopposing the revolutionarymovement of the people. Behindthe scenes, the US advisers andAquino's uncles, Eduardo andJose Cojuangco, conjure the illu-sion of unity by using PresidentAquino and Vice President Binayto form coalitions that hog thepolitical road and block the riseof any significant oppositionparty.

Aquino's ruling Liberal Partyhas coalesced with the National-

ist People's Coalition, the Na-cionalista Party and some ele-ments in the former ruling coali-tion under Arroyo for the 2013elections. Likewise, Binay's PDP-Laban has coalesced with Estra-da's Pwersa ng Masang Pilipinoof Estrada and Laban ng Demok-ratikong Pilipino to form theUnited Nationalist Alliance

(UNA). The ruling coalition andUNA are actually close collabo-rators. There is no significantmainstream opposition party orcoalition within the ruling class-es, except the residue of the Ar-royo ruling coalition which per-sists due to the strength of itsleaders in local bailiwicks.

The US is promoting the uni-

ty of the reactionary forces inorder to push anti-national andanti-democratic amendments tothe 1987 constitution, enablefurther US military interventionand press for the de-bilitation of the le-gal democraticmovement and theoutright armed sup-

pression of the revolution-ary movement of the peo-ple under Oplan Bayanihan.Plans are afoot to rig the au-tomated electoral system toprevent the election of patrioticand progressive candidates.

At any rate, the contradic-

tions among the reactionariesover their share of power andspoils will continue to sharpenbeneath the surface of currentappearances of unity. The reac-tionary political factions nevercease to maneuver for advanta-ges in political and economicterms and in having privatearmed groups and access to cor-responding factions within themilitary and police.

The fakery in the Aquinoclaim of good governance, up-rightness and honesty is becom-ing exposed. With the fractiousand corrupt character of the

rotten ruling system, the revolu-tionary movement can take ad-vantage of the contradictionsamong the reactionaries. Everapplicable is the policy of theunited front to coordinate andsynergize the basic forces of therevolution, take advantage of reactionary splits, isolate anddestroy the power of the enemy.

The temporary alliances thatthe Party can have with certainreactionary forces may relate tothe reactionary elections, theconduct of the reactionary gov-ernment, the peace negotiationsand other matters. As a matterof united front policy, the Partyencourages the patriotic andprogressive forces to partici-

pate in elections even as theseare farcical and subject to thepower and finances of the majorreactionary political parties. It

is important for thepeople to have repre-sentatives who willvigorously pursuetheir patriotic anddemocratic demands

even within the reac-tionary institutionsand processes.

Like the unlament-ed Arroyo regime, the Aqui-

no regime and its retinue of mil-itary officers keep on boastingthat most areas of the Philippi-




nes have become insurgency-free. They keep on repeating thelie that in the mid-1980s theNPA had an armed strength of 25,000 high-powered rifles andnow has only 4000. The fact isthat the NPA armed strength in1986 was only 6,100 rifles.

They wish to downplay thefact that NPA Red fighters andother revolutionary forces canmove freely in more than 90% of Philippine territory. The enemyhas only enough armed force toconcentrate on a few guerrillafronts at every given time. Thereactionary government is bank-

rupt and incapable of makingany significant increase in mili-tary personnel and equipmentwithout substantial militarysupport of the US government.Even within guerrilla fronts un-der concentrated enemy attack,there are wide gaps between en-emy units and the NPA units areable to maneuver and launch

tactical offensives to wipe outone enemy unit after another.

Furthermore, NPA units de-ployed by regional or inter-frontcommands are able to counter-attack enemy units on a widescale. The enemy offers somany weak points that the NPAcan discover and exploit or cre-ate and attack at will. The

broad masses have cheered sev-eral NPA offensives against min-ing, logging and plantation en-terprises, especially in thenortheastern, southern andnorthcentral regions of Mindan-ao. Most embarrassing to theenemy are NPA offensives car-ried out in areas previouslydeclared insurgency-free

by the reactionaryarmed forces.These are the am-buscadeson enemyunits inA b r a ,I f u g a o ,

Isabela, Aurora and Leyte. NPAoffensives have also been donein Camarines Norte, Sorsogon,Catanduanes, Masbate, Iloilo,Zamboanga del Norte and otherprovinces.

Corollary with waging peo-ple's war, the National Demo-cratic Front of the Philippines inrepresentation of the Filipinopeople and the revolutionaryforces negotiates with the reac-tionary government. The peacenegotiations are a process of propagating the Program for aPeople's Democratic Revolution,exposing the anti-national and

antidemocratic character of thereactionary government andchallenging its better elementsto join the revolutionary forcesin a united front against foreignand feudal domination and forthe completion of the people'sstruggle for national liberationand democracy.

In peace negotiations, the

NDFP undertakes a form of struggle for a just and lastingpeace that is based on negotiat-ed and mutually agreed basicsocial, economic and politicalreforms to address the roots of the civil war. So far, one rulingclique after another in the reac-tionary government has tried touse the peace negotiations in

order to cause the capitulationand pacification of the revolu-tionary forces and to preservethe rotten ruling system. Overthe past two years, the US-Aqui-no regime has paralyzed thepeace negotiations by seeking toundermine The Hague Joint Dec-laration of 1992 and by refusingto comply with the Joint Agree-

ment onSafety andI m m u n i ty

Guarantees(JASIG) and the Com-prehensive Agree-ment on Respect forHuman Rights and

International Humanitarian Law(CARHRIHL).

In violation of the JASIG,the regime has prevented theproper investigation of the en-forced disappearances, illegalarrests and detention, and sur-veillance and harassments of NDFP consultants and personnelin the peace negotiations. Itstands by the lie of its predeces-sor in denying that the GPH hadinstigated and was fully com-plicit with the US and Dutchgovernments in the raids by theDutch police on the NDFP officesand the residences of its negoti-

ating panel and staff, and in thearrest and detention of Prof.Jose Maria Sison on the basis of false charges.It continues toblock the release of 14 NDFPconsultants and members of theNDFP Negotiating Panel. In vio-lation of the CARHRIHL, the re-gime continues to hold the re-lease of more than 400 political

prisoners falsely charged withcommon crimes despite allega-tions of involvement in thearmed conflict/civil war. Thebig comprador-landlord presi-dent is not interested in seriouspeace negotiations and is moti-vated by class vengeanceagainst the revolutionary move-ment for the demand of farm

workers to subject HaciendaLuisita to land reform.

Aquino continues to heed thewishes of the clerico-fascistsand military agents who havedisrupted the peace negotia-tions since the time of the Ar-royo regime. They use the nego-tiations as a vehicle for psy-warand for broadcasting their de-

mand for the revolutionary for-ces to surrender. They vainlywish for the permanent endingof hostilities before the compre-hensive agreements on social,economic and political reformsare forged. They are obsessedwith trying to break the will of




the revolutionary forces andcompel them to accept the rot-ten ruling system and its reac-tionary constitution.

The Manila government hassigned with the Moro IslamicLiberation Front (MILF) theFramework Agreement on theBangsamoro. In crucial provi-sions of the agreement, theMILF submits to the authority of the oppressive state based inManila and gives up the possibil-ity of seceding and establishingan independent Bangsamorostate. Essential points for fourannexes on transitional ar-

rangements and modalities,power sharing, wealth sharingand normalization are stated inthe agreement and confirm thesubmission of the MILF to thesovereignty and constitutionalprocesses of the Manila govern-ment.

The Transition Commissionthat would be responsible for

formulating the Bangsamoro Ba-sic Law is to be created by anexecutive order by Aquino andsubject to approval by Congressand further subject to processesordained by the Manila govern-ment. The Manila governmentprovides a certain measure of concessions to the Bangsamoroon power and wealth sharing but

can limit or even retract suchconcessions. Not soon after themuch ballyhooed signing lastOctober, the talks on the annex-es has hit an impasse reportedlydue to the Manila governmentattempt to renegotiate theFramework Agreement provisionon the chairmanship and compo-sition of the Transition Commis-

sion.The provisions on normali-zation subjects the BangsamoroIslamic Armed Forces (BIAF) of the MILF to decommissioningwhile allowing the continuingpresence AFP troops in Bang-samoro lands.

The Manila government may

go through the motion of realiz-ing the Framework Agreementand its annexes because afterall the MILF has submitted itself to its supreme authority, as theMoro National Liberation Fronthad done previously in the proc-ess of establishing the Autono-mous Region in Muslim Mindan-ao (ARMM). The main objectiveof the Manila government is topacify and subordinate theMILF and use it for the politicaland economic purposes of Mani-la and Washington.

The reactionary governmentexpects that with the MILF and

BIAF pacified, more troops of the reactionary armed forcescould be deployed to crush theNPA and the revolutionarymovement. This is a pipe dream.The Marcos fascist dictatorshipcould not destroy the NPA whenit was still small and weak, evenafter Marcos obtained a perma-nent ceasefire with the MNLF

under the Tripoli Agreement in1976. Moreover, were the MILFto capitulate completely, otherexisting and potential armiescould continue the armed strug-gle of the Bangsamoro and stilltie down a big number of enemyforces in south-western Mind-anao.

The growing US military in-

tervention in the Philippines in-volves the violation of nationalsovereignty and territorial in-tegrity of the Philippines. Itconstitutes an assault on theFilipino people and their revolu-tionary movement. It uses pre-texts that are clearly obnoxious,such as the frequent joint mili-tary exercises, the so-called

global war on terror and refocuson the East Asia region to con-tain China.

The US is hell-bent on en-trenching its military forces inthe Philippines and is using thePhilippines as a strategic baseto service US military forces and

to serve as entry point and hoststorage facilities for US nuclear,chemical, biological and otherweapons of mass destruction.On a daily basis, US military ad-visers and troops participate inintelligence, psy-war and com-bat operations of the Philippinereactionary armed forces. Theyprovide the latest high-tech mil-itary equipment and directly op-erate unmanned aerial vehicles(UAVs), commonly calleddrones, whose technology theUS military intends to monopo-lize and control.

At any rate, the US is al-

ready overextended as it refo-cuses on East Asia. China con-tinues to cooperate with the USin the region and in the worldand is astutely avoiding any hos-tility with the US. Contrary tothe belief of some Filipino reac-tionaries that the US providesprotection to the Philippinesagainst China, the US has clear-

ly declared that it is neutral onissues concerning territorialcontroversies over the sea be-tween China and its neighbors.In fact, the US has more inter-ests in relations with China thanin relations with the Philippines.Moreover, the US-RP MutualDefense Treaty does not carryany provision for automatic re-

taliation in the event of a third-party attack on the Philippines.

Only the Filipino people canbest protect themselves bystrengthening their revolution-ary movement and ultimatelywinning political power in thepeople's democratic revolution.It would be foolhardy to rely onthe US for protection or on Chi-

na for magnanimity. No foreignpower will ever dare to conquerand occupy the Philippines solong as the more than 100 mil-lion Filipino people are everready to inflict serious damageon the invader through people'swar.




The Party and the revolu-tionary movement are frustrat-ing and thwarting the US-Aqui-no regime's use of Oplan Bayan-ihan for the stated objective of debilitating or destroying the

revolutionary movement from2011 to 2013 and transferringfrom the reactionary armed for-ces to the police the task of mopping up the remnants of therevolutionary forces from 2014to 2016. It is instructive topoint out that even when theNPA was still small and weak inthe early 1970s, the Marcos fas-

cist dictatorship with moreavailable resources could notprevent its growth.

The US-Aquino regime'sOplan Bayanihan is a viciousmonster. The regime hypocriti-cally and cynically calls its triadmilitary operations (psy-war, in-telligence and combat) as “pea-ce and development” opera-

tions. In fact, these operationsinvolve abductions, enforceddisappearances, torture, assas-sinations, massacres, forcedmass evacuations and popula-tion control operations throughi n t i m i d a t i o nand coercion,bombardments,strafing and ar-tillery fire. Allthese are done topreserve the rulingsystem and allow for-eign and domestic ex-ploiters to oppress andexploit the people.

The main thrust of

Oplan Bayanihan is to kill sus-pected revolutionaries and whipup military units to a competi-tion of “body counts.” It is com-plemented by psy-war actions inthe form of civic actions, medi-

cal missions, money dole-outsand other deceptive tactics con-ducted by “peace and develop-ment teams” to engage in intel-ligence work and intimidation of the families of suspected revolu-tionaries.

Even children in suspectedguerrilla fronts are not spared.They are misrepresented as NPA

child soldiers and subjected tointimidation, arrest, torture orextrajudicial killing. Thus, theNDFP has issued the GeneralDeclaration and Program of Ac-tion for the Rights, Protectionand Welfare of Children. Thiscovers the children in the entirecountry and in all respects andgives special attention to chil-

dren in areas of armed conflict.The growth of the varioussubjective forces of the revolu-tion cannot be stopped becauseof the Party's correct line and

because of the crisisconditions and the

expanse of the coun-t r y s i d ewhich can-

not be in-tensively cov-

ered by the co-ercive apparatuses of the

reactionary state. The cur-rent grave crisis of the worldcapitalist system and the far

III. The Philippine revolutionis advancing

Under the leadership of the Communist Party of the Philippines,the people's democratic revolution through people's war is ad-

vancing. It is making substantial progress in carrying out the strate-gic plan to advance the people's war from the strategic defensive tothe strategic stalemate. In this connection, the Party has strength-ened itself ideologically, politically and organizationally.

graver crisis of the domestic rul-ing system are exceedingly fa-vorable conditions for furtheradvancing the armed revolu-tionary movement of the Filipinopeople. Their determination towage armed resistance does notwane despite forty years of dif-ficult struggle. The increasinglyintolerable conditions of exploi-tation and oppression sufferedby the broad masses of the peo-ple heighten their desire revolu-tionary change.

Under the guidance of Marx-ism-Leninism-Maoism, the Partyis vigorously engaged in ideolog-

ical building among Party cadresand members as well as amongmass activists who wish to jointhe Party. They are eager tostudy the history and circum-stances of Philippine society andrevolution and the global con-text of imperialism and proletar-ian revolution; and to widen anddeepen their knowledge of revo-

lutionary theory and practicethrough the three levels of Partyeducation. The Party is deter-mined to make prompt assign-ment of instructors and ar-rangement of study meetings torespond to the enthusiasm of those who wish to study.

The revolutionary forcesdaily conduct countless study

meetings. They employ variouscreative ways to keep these se-cret from the enemy who desireto put a stop to the propagationof revolutionary ideas. Studysessions conducted by Redfighters as well as by peasantsmass organizations and localParty branches are secured anddefended by units of the peo-

ple's army.In all Party study courses,the use of materialist dialecticsin thinking and action is incul-cated to enable Party membersto discern and analyze what iscorrect in relation to subjectiv-ism, be it in the form of empiri-




cism or dogmatism as well as re-formism and revisionism.

The Party has been able toconduct the basic Party coursein order to make the Party can-didate-members become fullmembers. Party leading organsand units are aware that the ac-celerated increase of Partymembers is a crucial componentof the strategic plan to advanceto the strategic stalemate. TheParty has also been able to con-duct the intermediate and ad-vanced Party courses in order towiden and deepen the under-standing of Marxism-Leninism-

Maoism among Party membersand cadres.

Oplan Bayanihan has no wayof stopping the recruitment andeducation of Party candidate-members and full members fromthe trade unions, farms,schools, offices and the massmovement in general. The Partyhas been able to digitize the

storage, retrieval and publica-tion of revolutionary study ma-terials on a wide scale. It hasalso used new technology toproduce and reproduce for peo-ple with limited formal educa-tion simplified study materialsin various Philippine languages.Thousands of local Party cadres,as well as worker and peasant

activists, are being trained asinstructors of the Party and thenational democratic school.Byhaving easy access to Marxist-Leninist-Maoist references, ac-tivists can more activelyengage in study and propa-ganda and wage debatesagainst the reactionariesand their ideological apolo-

gists.The Party has propagat-ed and carried out the gen-eral line of new democraticrevolution through propagan-da and agitation, through theexpansion and consolidation of mass organizations and through

the mobilization of the broadmasses of the people on urgentand long-running issues. Thepeople's army, the mass organi-zations and the organs of politi-cal power have been effective inarousing, organizing and mobi-lizing the masses.

The Party combats “Left”and Right opportunism. It de-fines the correct political line onparticular issues and processes,guided by the Program for the of People's Democratic Revolution,by subjecting facts and circum-stances to class analysis, and bydetermining the principal and

secondary aspects and thus ar-riving at the course of actionthat carries the revolutionarymovement forward.

The Party engages in re-search and publications on do-mestic and global issues. Thelies churned out daily by the re-actionary spin factory are ex-posed, denounced and chal-

lenged. News of revolutionarystruggles and victories arepromptly circulated. Variouspublications are issued by theCentral Committee, regionalParty committees and variousmass organizations. These arepublished in print and on the in-ternet. Local Party branchesare setting up guerrilla printing

shops to screen print Ang Bayanand ensure that copies reach ev-ery Party member, Red fighterand activist. Leaders and speak-

ers are trained and gain expe-

rience by explaining issues tothe masses and expressing theirdemands at public meetings.

The Party encourages theworking people and the middlesocial strata to build open andunderground mass organiza-tions and to uphold, defend andpromote the national and demo-cratic rights and interests of theFilipino people. The under-ground mass organizations areallied within the framework of the National Democratic Frontand support the local organs of political power.

The Party's main mass or-

ganization is the New People'sArmy. It is different from allother mass organizations by be-ing armed and by serving as thepeople's instrument for smash-ing the power of the reactionarystate and enabling the local or-gans of political power and insum the people's democraticstate to arise and develop.

The NPA is responsible forwaging revolutionary armedstruggle. It has thousands of high-powered rifles in the handsof its fighters and aims to in-crease this to the level of 25,000in order to reach the thresholdof the strategic stalemate in thenext few years. It currently op-erates in more than 100 guerril-

la fronts and is striving to in-crease these to 180 within thenext five years since 2010 or fora longer period if need be. Thereare efforts to assist those re-

gions that are lagging be-hind other regions in or-der to keep them apace

with the overall ad-vance.

In order to achievethe strategic plan of cre-ating a guerrilla front percongressional district, re-gional Party committessubdivide their areas of responsibilty to inter-

front and front commands




without necessarily immediatelydividing or liquidating the re-gional and inter-front com-mands and their respectiveheadquarters and strike forces.To expand existing guerillafronts or establish new ones,NPA units can advance wave up-on wave from an establishedguerilla front. The Party and themass movement can also expandahead of NPA units. Party cad-res and mass activists can be as-signed to the expansion area toconduct social investigation andinitial organizing and the NPAcan subsequently forward initial

armed propaganda teams.The Party is currently con-

cerned with strengthening theleading committees and NPAcommands at the level of the re-gion, inter-front and the guerril-la front in order to seize initia-tive in launching tactical offen-sives and defeating enemy cam-paigns and operations. Every

level has a center of gravity(headquarters and strike force)with an armed strength suffi-cient to protect the Party lead-ership and NPA command anddeliver lethal blows on enemyunits independently or in con- junction with NPA units at lowerlevels.

The Party can develop the

NPA national operational com-mand (NOC) on the basis of theregional operational commands.These can serve as the source of highly competent officers. TheNOC can base itself on any re-gional command and organ-ization at any giventime before it can de-velop its own distinct

central base in a relativelystable base area in the fu-ture.

The current modusoperandi of the enemyis to concentratelarge forces againstcertain guerrilla

fronts in various regions for ex-tended periods. Southern Mind-anao, Samar-Leyte and Negroshave been top priority for sus-tained enemy attacks involvingeight to twelve battalions foreach region. Bicol, Southern Ta-galog, Central Luzon, NortheastLuzon and Northeast Mindanaohave been attacked by six to tenbattalions per region.

An NPA force within a guer-rilla front under enemy encircle-ment avails of the tactics of us-ing the wide gaps between ene-my units in order to move frominterior line to exterior line to

launch tactical offensives andwipe out weak segments of theenemy forces. NPA units havebeen able to deliver lethal blowson enemy forces even wherethese are concentrated by hit-ting their weak points.

Outside a guerrilla front un-der enemy attack, the regionaland inter-front commands can

launch tactical offensivesagainst the enemy forces besie-ging the guerrilla front oragainst the enemy forces in are-as at some distance from theguerrilla front under attack.NPA tactical offensives are un-stoppable because enemy weakpoints to observe and attackabound.

The enemy does not havesufficient armed strength to tar-get and encircle all the guerrillafronts in the country and con-

duct prolonged and in-depthattacks against them all at

the same time. Whenever theenemy chooses to concentrateon a number of regions or guer-rilla fronts at a given time, theNPA elsewhere can attack weakpoints of the enemy, be thesemilitary, police, paramilitaryforces and private securityagencies as well as facilities andsupply lines.

The NPA undertake annihila-tive actions as the main tactic towipe out enemy units in order toseize weapons for increasingNPA units. It concentrates itsforces to launch ambuscadesagainst enemy troops and carry

out raids against lightly-guard-ed enemy detachments andcamps, police stations as well asagainst secret armories main-tained by the private securityagencies. Such methods as snip-ing, zapping, deploying landmines and other explosives andinflammables (including sprayerand cigarette lighter) are used.

Attritive actions are launched toinflict damage on the fightingcapacity and morale of the ene-my. Disintegrative actions aredone by propaganda suited tothe enemy personnel and by le-nient treatment of those whoare captured.

The NPA uses intensive andextensive guerrilla warfare on

an ever expanding and deepen-ing mass base in order to accu-mulate armed strength for regu-lar mobile warfare and buildingrelatively stable base areas in

the future. It concentrates asuperior force to wipe out anenemy unit. It shifts to get

more advantageous po-sition for attack-

ing the weakpoints of the enemy. It dis-perses units to do mass

work when condi-tions permit.

The Partymakes sure that the

revolutionary armed struggle is




integrated with land reform andmass base building. The NPA isinvincible as long as the peasantmasses benefit from genuineland reform and remain the in-exhaustible source of strengthfor the NPA. At the same time,the mass base is expanded andconsolidated with the building of the organs of political powerand the mass organizations.

Land reform is the main con-tent of the democratic revolu-tion. It has been carried out instages, from the minimum to themaximum program. The mini-mum program consists of rent

reduction, elimination of usury,raising farm wages, improvingfarm-gate prices and increasingproduction in agriculture andsideline occupation through ru-dimentary forms of cooperation.The maximum program of con-fiscation and free distribution of land is possible upon the defeatof feudal power.

In certain regions, especiallyin Mindanao, the NPA has car-ried out significant offensivesagainst mining, logging andplantation enterprises. Nation-wide, these offensives aremeant to stop and discouragelandgrabbing, the plunder of natural resources for export andthe destruction of the environ-

ment and agriculture; and tomake more land available forland reform, to conserve thenatural resources and use themwisely for national industrializa-tion.

The US-Aquino regime hasshamelessly used the reaction-ary armed forces as securityguards for the mining, logging

and plantation enterprises andhas encouraged these to formlarger private armies called“investment defense forces.” Itis fine that the NPA is compel-ling the enemy forces to be tieddown by guard duty. The forma-tion of so many dispersed state

and private armies can turn in-to its opposite and they can sub-sequently serve as sources of arms for expanding NPA ranks.

The strengthening and prop-er functioning of the local or-gans of political power and massorganizations under the leader-ship of the local Party branchrelieve the NPA of work overloadas they shoulder more responsi-bilities. By assuming responsi-bilities in defense and produc-tion, the people's militia at thebarrio level and self-defenseunits of the mass organizationscan reduce the work load of NPA

units and allow them more timefor combat, politico-militarytraining, and other military du-ties. Even so, the people's armymaintains a balance of combatand non-combat duties (includ-ing mass work, especially in newareas.)

The mass line is to trust, re-ly on and enable the people to

look after their own goodthrough the local organs of po-litical power and the mass or-ganizations under Party leader-ship. The committees which arethe organs of political power aresupported by the working com-mittees in charge of mass edu-cation, organizing, land reform,production, health and sanita-

tion, defense, arbitration andcultural work. The mass organi-zations rouse and mobilize thepeople to engage in campaignsfor their own benefit.

In establishingthe people's govern-ment from thelevel of thevillages and

upward, it hasbeen necessa-ry for the NPAto defeat theenemy forcescumulatively andfor the peasantmasses to

wage mass struggles in order tobreak up reactionary power inthe localities and to eliminate orcause the flight of incorrigiblereactionary officials who op-press the people and incur blooddebts. Higher levels of people'sgovernment have an under-ground character while the re-actionary government can stilloperate and extort levies fromthe people.

The Party applies the anti-feudal united front in the coun-tryside by relying mainly on thepoor and lower middle peasants,befriending the rich peasants,

taking advantage of the splitsamong the landlords and isolat-ing and defeating the despoticlandlords. The antifeudal unitedfront is at the base of the na-tional united front. The Partyensures that the united frontpolicy is mainly for the armedstruggle, especially through theNational Democratic Front. At

the same time, the policy servesto encourage the developmentof patriotic and progressive for-ces in the legal mass movement.These are of vital importance inpropagating the people's de-mand for fundamental changetowards national and social lib-eration.

In any case, the united front

policy and tactics are meant toarouse, mobilize and organizethe masses in their millions. Tomaintain the patriotic and pro-gressive character of the united




front, the Party in principle andin proper style leads every pos-sible combination of forces inthe echelon of alliances, such asthe basic worker-peasant alli-ance, the progressive alliance of the toiling masses and the urbanpetty bourgeoisie, the patrioticalliance with the national bour-geoisie and the unstable alliancewith any section of the reaction-ary classes that cooperates inopposing the enemy.

Through the united front,the people in great numbersventilate and act upon the is-sues arising from the people's

struggle for national liberationand democracy. The people areunited and mobilized to upholdnational sovereignty and terri-torial integrity against the im-perialists, to defend and upholdhuman rights against state ter-rorism and repression, to con-demn corruption and to removefrom power corrupt and op-

pressive government officials.Marcos and Estrada were isolat-ed and then overthrown, withthe Party applying the unitedfront policy. This policy is nowdirected against the puppet,corrupt, exploitative, brutal anddeceptive regime of Aquino.

Engaging in peace negotia-tions is relevant to the united

front. It involves propagatingthe program of people's demo-cratic revolution and exposingto the public how the reaction-ary government reacts to de-mands for basic reforms and of-fers of truce and alliance or co-operation against imperialismand the worst forms of local re-action.

Tolerating the electoralprocess of the reactionary gov-ernment on whatever scale is al-so relevant to the united front.It involves developing coopera-tion with patriotic and progres-sive candidates and groups andencouraging them to fight the

worst reactionaries in the reac-tionary government and do whatthey can to help disintegrate thereactionary ruling system.

As always, the Party isbound by the principle of demo-cratic centralism. This is cen-tralized leadership based on de-mocracy and democracy guidedby centralism. The Party pro-motes both discipline and de-mocracy. It is always on guardagainst bureaucratism and ul-trademocracy. It practices crit-icism and self-criticism on ideo-logical, political and organiza-tional issues.

Party membership has in-creased under the impetus of the strategic plan to advancethe people's war from the stra-tegic defensive to the strategicstalemate and upon the properexpeditious implementation of the provisions of the Party Con-stitution on membership.

Activists in the trade unions

and the mass organizations of peasants and fisher folk, wom-en, youth, professionals andother sectors have become Par-ty candidate members by ac-cepting the Party Constitutionand Program and applying forParty membership. Previouscauses of stagnation or slowgrowth of Party membership are

being addressed and rectified.Mass activists are being re-

cruited in great number and arepromptly provided with basic

Party education within the peri-od of candidature stipulated bythe Party constitution. Negli-gence of the basic tasks of Partyrecruitment and education, con-ceit by setting standards higherthan those required by the Partyconstitution and failing to trustmass activists are being recti-fied.

The period of candidaturefor workers, peasants, fisherfolkand other toilers is six months;for those from the urban pettybourgeoisie, one year; and forother classes, two years. To be-come full Party members the

candidate-members finish thebasic Party course and join a ba-sic Party unit.

The Party's policy is to re-cruit Party members mainlyfrom the ranks of mass activistsand to boldly expand the Partymembership without letting in asingle unreliable. The expansionof Party membership is necessi-

tated by the intensifying revolu-tionary struggle and the gigan-tic tasks to be carried out byParty cadres and members inserving the people and carryingthe revolution forward.

The Party is now present innearly all provinces of the coun-try. It runs ahead of the build-ing of the New People's Army. It

expands with the mass move-ment. It prepares the way forthe advance of the people's ar-my, which it heads and within

which it is thecore. The Partygrows not onlyfrom the ranks of Red commandersand fighters but

also from the fargreater number of activists in themass organiza-tions of the toilingmasses and the ur-ban petty bour-geoisie.




We must completely defeatthe strategic plan of the US-Aquino regime to destroy therevolutionary movement of thepeople and to preserve the rul-ing system of big compradorsand landlords under the hegem-ony of US imperialism. The re-gime's lip service to peace ne-gotiations is merely a minor partof its campaign of deceptionwhich complements the maincampaign of military suppres-sion under Oplan Bayanihan.

We must win the immediatestruggle against the reactionarypuppet regime in order tostrengthen our revolutionaryforces for the long-term strug-gle to overthrow the entire rul-ing system. We must perseverein carrying out the strategicplan to advance the people'swar from the strategic defensive

to the strategic stalemate.

1We must further strengthenthe Party as the most ad-

vanced detachment of the revo-lutionary proletariat and as theleading force of the people'sdemocratic revolution. We mustpropagate Marxism-Leninism-Maoism as the guide to the Phil-

ippine revolution. We must ap-ply this theory on the historyand current circumstances of the world and the Philippines.

We must use the theory toexplain the crisis of the worldcapitalist system and the domes-tic ruling system, illuminate the

road of revolution led by theworking class and raise our revo-lutionary consciousness andstruggle. We must expose theroot causes of our country's un-derdevelopment and our people'spoverty and suffering and definethe revolutionary course to takein order to advance the cause of national and social liberation.

We must ensure that all Par-ty candidate-members take thebasic Party course which ismainly about Philippine society

in order to become full Partymembers within the stipulatedperiod of candidature. Even atthis basic level, those taking thecourse must gain awareness oran initial understanding of howmaterialist dialectics and classanalysis are applied on Philip-pine history and current socialconditions and the adoption of

the general line of new-demo-cratic revolution through peo-ple's war.

Consequently, Party mem-bers must take the intermediateParty course in order to learnmore about the Philippine revo-lutionary movement by compar-ing it with other revolutions un-der proletarian leadership. Still

further they must take the ad-vanced Party course to studyMarxist-Leninist-Maoist philos-ophy, political economy, socialscience, strategy and tacticsand the history of the interna-tional communist movement.

We must understand how

monopoly capitalism wreakshavoc on the lives of the workingpeople, how socialism arose inthe world, how it has been be-trayed and overpowered bymodern revisionism and how itcan rise again from the condi-tions of crisis brought about bymonopoly capitalism and fromthe perseverance of the prole-tariat and the people in theirrevolutionary struggle.

All Party organs and unitsmust strive to apply what theylearn from studying theory andpractice and must diligently car-ry out the policies and decisions

of the Central Committee. Theymust sum up and analyze theirexperience and engage in criti-cism and self-criticism in orderto rectify and overcome errorsand shortcomings and in orderto improve work and work styleto advance the struggle againstthe people's adversaries.

Special studies should be de-

veloped and propagated on mili-tary theory; the strategy andtactics of our people’s warbased on summings up of experi-ences, Party policies and direct-ives; waging agrarian revolu-tion wave upon wave, unitedfront work, the democratic massmovement; revolutionary workinside the reactionary parlia-

ment and style and methods of leadership of Party committees.Theoretical and work conferen-ces must be organized at differ-ent levels to encourage system-atic study and discussion of the-oretical and practical questions,enliven exchange of experiencesand views, and facilitate theunification of the Party on policy

and tactics.Combatting subjectivism re-quires constant vigilance againstboth dogmatism and empiricism.But at present we need to payparticular attention against theempiricist current and the relat-ed erroneous tendencies of right

IV. Fight firmly and fiercelyfor national liberation and democracy

We must fight firmly and fiercely for national freedom and genu-ine democracy against the oppressive and exploitative US-

Aquino regime. We must defeat its campaigns of violence and decep-tion. We are confident of winning victory because the current crisisof the world capitalist system and the domestic ruling system pro-vides exceedingly favorable conditions for the revolutionary struggle.The regime can be surely discredited and isolated due to its anti-na-tional and anti-democratic policies and actions.




opportunism in politics, conserv-atism in the conduct of thearmed struggle and ultrademoc-racy and liberalism in organiza-tional matters. The manifesta-tions of empiricism include nar-rowness and superficiality in-stead of striving for a compre-hensive and concrete under-standing of questions andevents; being overly engrossedwith the immediate and short-term while neglecting basic andlong-term questions; neglect of theoretical and political educa-tion; being content with low lev-el, small-scale, scattered or

stagnant organization and mobi-lization of the masses; guerilla-ism in some NPA units; militarypassivity of some NPA units andguerilla fronts; over-reliance onunreliable tactical allies; vacilla-tion on revolutionary dual tacticswithin reactionary institutionsand processes; mountain-strong-hold mentality in some guerilla

units; gross neglect of the Par-ty's report system; ultrademoc-racy and small-group mentalityin Party organization.

2We must pursue the generalline of people's democratic

revolution through people's war.This line responds to the semico-lonial and semifeudal character

of Philippine ruling system, whichis maintained by force in order toexploit and oppress the people.To overthrow this system, wemust arouse, organize and mobi-lize the people in their millionsand thereby build the politicalstrength of the Party, the NewPeople's Army and the NationalDemocratic Front for the pur-

pose of overthrowing the reac-tionary state and establishingthe people's democratic state.

The Party must lead the NPAto fight and defeat the armedforces of the reactionary state.The NPA must frustrate andprevail over Oplan Bayanihan

with more frequent tactical of-fensives on a wide scale. In theprocess, we must seize morearms from the enemy and in-crease the number of NPA fight-ing units. The NPA level of armed strength must reach25,000 in order to advance fromthe strategic defensive to thestrategic stalemate.

The Party must develop thenational operational command aswell as the interregional, region-al, provincial, inter-front com-mands in order to strengthenplanning and coordination at thedifferent appropriate levels and

thus, multiply the NPA's sourcesof initiative to fight and defeatthe enemy campaigns that con-centrate on certain regions andcertain guerrilla fronts in an at-tempt to destroy these. The ini-tiatives can take the form of counter-attacking enemy unitsthat besiege any of the guerrillafronts or undertaking offensives

in areas where the enemy forcesare weak and vulnerable.

Planning and coordination atthe regional and interregionallevels should also hasten thestrengthening of guerilla warfarein all strategic areas in order tomake full use of the whole lengthand breadth of the archipelagofor intensifying guerilla warfare.

Greater attention and effortshould be given to the building of the people's militia. They are es-sential to the advance of wide-spread and intensive guerillawarfare and they directly impactthe growth and strengthening of the people's army. Cadres andspecial units in-charge of the for-mation, training and supervision

of people's militia units should beassigned at the front, inter-frontand regional levels.

The NPA must wage intensiveand extensive guerrilla warfareon the basis of an ever wideningand deepening mass base. Theaccumulation of victories will

eventually lead to larger andmore widespread NPA opera-tions. The revolutionary armedstrength must be integrated withland reform and mass base build-ing. The guerrilla fronts must beconsolidated with the establish-ment and development of the lo-cal organs of political power andthe mass organizations.

The Party must promote andlead the united front nationwidein both urban and rural areas.The united front is aimed at fa-cilitating and strengthening therevolutionary armed struggleand the legal mass struggles.

The various types of alliancesmust be developed. The objec-tive is to arouse and mobilizethe people in their millions alongthe line of people's democraticrevolution.

Correspondent to the strate-gic line of protracted people'swar, the antifeudal united frontmust be at the base of the na-

tional united front. It involvesthe Party relying mainly on thepoor peasants and farm workers,winning over the middle peas-ants, gaining the friendly neu-trality of the rich peasants andtaking advantage of the contra-dictions among landlords in or-der to isolate and destroy thepower of the despotic landlords.

The Party must further de-velop nationwide the basic alli-ance of the workers and peas-ants, the progressive alliance of the toiling masses with the ur-ban petty bourgeoisie, the patri-otic alliance of the foregoingwith the national bourgeoisie;and the broad alliance with cer-tain sectors of the reactionary

class. All types of alliances aremeant to arouse, organize andmobilize the people in order toisolate and destroy the power of the enemy.

The legal democratic move-ment of the workers and otherurban poor, the student youth,



low-income professionals andintellectuals and other demo-cratic sectors centered in theurban areas must be expandedand strengthened. The economicand political struggle of theworkers and other progressiveforces must be independentlyexpanded and advanced alongthe anti-imperialist, antifascistand antifeudal line to serve as astrong spearhead of the broadprotest movement that can op-pose and isolate the biggest andworst imperialist puppets andreactionaries in power andcause the destruction of the re-

actionaries one by one.National democratic agita-

tion, propaganda and politicaleducation must be invigoratedas a basic component of all masscampaigns.

3The Party must uphold theprinciple of democratic cen-

tralism. This means centralized

leadership based on democracyand democracy guided by cen-tralized leadership. Every Partymember is bound by the collect-ive interest and program of theentire Party and the revolution-ary movement.

In any voting, the majorityprevails over the minority. Thelower organ is subordinate to

the higher organ. The Partymust strengthen the leadingcommittees at various levels andmust take the lead in performingthe functions that are necessaryfor advancing the people's warfrom the strategic defensive tothe strategic stalemate.

All Party organs and unitsmust strive to apply what they

learn from studying theory andpractice and must diligently car-ry out the policies and decisionsof the Central Committee. Theymust sum up and analyze theirexperience and engage in criti-cism and self-criticism in order torectify and overcome errors and

shortcomings and in order to im-prove their work and work styleto advance the struggle againstthe people's adversaries.

The Party must further in-crease its membership to250,000 in the next few years.This is to enable the Party tolead the growing people's army,the organs of political power,mass organizations and allian-ces and perform various types of functions. Expanding the Partymembership is an urgent and es-sential task for advancing therevolution.

The Party must run ahead of

the people’S army in building theParty organization in the prov-inces, districts and municipali-ties where units of the people'sarmy do not yet operate. TheParty must pay attention to ex-panding in both urban and ruralareas and providing leadershipto the mass movement.

The activists in the mass

movement must be encouragedto apply for Party membership.Upon application and accept-ance, they become candidate-members and must be tasked andgiven the basic Party course.Every Party unit must take re-sponsibility for every Party can-didate-member that it recruits tobecome a full Party member.

We must recruit Party mem-bers mainly from the consciousand militant ranks of the toilingmasses of workers and peasantsand the youth mass movement.We need educated youth, withvarious types of knowledge andtechnical skills to do revolution-ary work in various fields of so-cial activity and in various or-

ganizations and institutions.We should develop and trainthousands of new and youngcadres to further strengthenParty leadership at every leveland in the different spheres of revolutionary work. We needcadres who have a firm grasp of

Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, aresteadfast in upholding the Partyline, diligent in work and study,are close to the masses, can findtheir own bearing, are willing toface difficulties and sacrifices,can unite with other comrades,observe discipline and know howto criticize themselves.

A healthy system of regularand special reports and systemof correspondence between thehigher and lower organs of theParty is required for the Partyorganization to function properlyand well. The lower organsshould submit regular and spe-

cial reports and make sure thatthe higher organs are constantlywell-informed about the situa-tion, developments and problemsin their revolutionary work andshould request for instructionsand guidance to insure the suc-cessful carrying out of Partyplans, policies and decisions. Thehigher organs on the other hand

should be diligent in studying re-ports and giving timely guidanceto the lower organs. Gross ne-glect of reporting by the lowerorgans and failure of the higherorgans to check-up on and giveguidance to the lower organs areserious breaks in the Party or-ganization and discipline.

We resolve to fight the US-

Aquino regime and the entireruling system and thereby winever greater victories in thepeople's democratic revolution.We are confident of advancingfrom the stage of strategic de-fensive to that of the strategicstalemate in our people's war,no matter how long it takes.

The important point is to do

everything possible and neces-sary to carry the revolution for-ward in stages towards the ba-sic completion of the new demo-cratic revolution and move for-ward to the commencement of the socialist revolution. Our ul-timate goal is communism. ~

Seize the initiative in all forms of struggle and intensify the offensive against the enemy

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