U N I T Y- Reprint—NEWSPAPER OF THE LEAGUE OF REVOLimONARr STRUQQLE (M-L)

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Firsthand report from the Philippines

From a New People's Armyguerrilla zone

Peasants harvest rice mainly by hand and pay high rent to the landlords.

A delegation of Ihe U.S. League of Revoiu-lionary Siruggle (Marxisi-Leninisi) recenilyvisited the Philippines to learn more about thepeople's struggle for national deniocraty. A tthat time, rumors were rife about the possiblelifting of martial law. hut the country resembled an armed camp.

Finally, on January i 7, Presidem FerdinandMarcos proclaimed the end ol' more than eightyears of martial law. However, under the 1973Constitution, Marcos maintains power to ruleby decrees instituted during and after martiallaw. He remains Commander-in-Chief of theArmed Forces of the Philippines and president

until at lie t 1984, when Marcos has schedulednew "elevens." People can still be arrestedwithout charges, strikes are prohibited, thepress is restricted and the hundreds of politicalprisoners will not be released.

This situation of continued dictatorshipwithout martial law was foreseen by Philippine r^istance forces. They told us that Marcos' reason for lifting martial law is primarily

; to clean up his reputation internationally andto give the impression that the dictatorshiphas ended without really giving up his dictatorial powers.

Following is the first of a two-part reportfrom the League's trip to the Philippines,which included discussions with peasants, ,workers and students, and a visit to a guerrillazone of the New People's Army of the Communist Party of the Philippines.

• * •

The U.S. government once called the Philippines a "Pacific Showcase" and a haven forforeign investment. Since Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos imposed martial lawin 1972, the U.S. and Marcos have praised theban on strike and suspension of dvil libertiesfor creating an even better climate for bigbqriness.

ISut from the point of view of the mass»,tnartial law and U.S. imperialist dominationof the Philippines have meant only poverty:and a complete denial of basic democraticrights such as free speech^ press and assembly,and the right to strike. •

We could see the effects of tnartial laweverywhere in Manila. AU major buildingswere under tight security because of recentbombings by certain forces opposed to Marcos. As we walked into a department store inthe Makati district of Metro Manila, guardssearched our shopping bags and checked uswith a metal detector.

While staying in our small hotel, we had tokeep an eye out for * 'spotters'' who are paid tofind people critical of Marcos among theguests. Of course, it isn't safe to hold anti-Marcos discussions among friends in anyopen place. Once while talking in a publicparki we moved three times to avoid being ac

cidentally overheard.But in spite of martial law, several major

mass struggles broke.out in Manila during ourvisit. Four hundred Hmex workers went outon a contract strike. Students at the University of the Philippines called a boycott ofclasses in support of political prisoners, whohave numbered over 70,000in the eight yearssince martial law was imposed. Some IVXX)elementary school teachers in Manilasta awalkout protesting low pay, aftd.pdmicalprisoners at the Bicutan Detention Centercompleted a successful hunger strike.

Everywhere, there were mass expressionsof anger and even open defiance of martiallaw. But many people agree that ifyou want tounderstand how Marcos has stayed in powerfor 16 years against the wishes of the people,you hove to look at the role of the U.S. inbacking up his re^me.

U.S. imperialist dominationThe Philippines was a U.S. colony until

1 , and today the country's 46 million people remain under U.S. domination. The U.S.is the nuw backer of the Marcos regime, andMarcos makes no major moves without consulting the U.S. In fact, before imposing martial law in 1972, Marcos consult then-U^S.President Nixon for his approval.

Economically, U.S. corporations like Fordand Del Monte own huge plants and plantations where they pay workers a fraction ofU.S. wages in order to reap extra high profits.We learned that the Ford Stamping Plantalone grossed $17.4 million in 1978. The U.S.controls at least 80% of all foreign investments in the Philippines and is raking in profits at an average rate of $5 for every $Iinvested.

U.S. products like Coca Cola and Colgatetoothpaste are sold everywhere, and U.S. culture is heavily imposed on the Pilipino peopleat the expense of their own national culture.English is the instructional language in theschools, and there are more English languagedaily newspapers in Manila than papers in thenational language, Pilipino (Tagalog).

Some television stations broadcast only inEnglish and feature U.S. shows like CHlPs

and Soap. During our visit, Pat and DebbieBoone arrived to give a concert, and theMarcos-cbntrolled press greeted them likevisiting heads of state.

To keep up the showcase image oP'Rurosper-ity , there are new skyscrapers in some areas ofManila, many Tiousing U.Si corporate bf-rfices. But for the poor, there are the vastshanty towns like TondO. We visited onesquatters' area where shacks were built fromscrap wood, metal and old tires. Workerstalked of making as little as $11 a month.There was no indoor running water or plumbing, no payed roads or other city servicesV Themost visible sight was a string of huge redCoca Cola Signs sticking out from the shacks.

In the countryside, feudalism and imperialism both weigh dowii on the peasants. U.S.agribusinesses like Del Monte and Dole havebought up thousands pf acresin some prpv-inces to produce pineapples and other prbd-ucts for export. Peasants are kept forevOf mdebt to the landlords through Systems Ofsharecropping and leaseholding. Mtich oftheir rice, sugar cane, coconuts atid other produce are exported. In Central Luzon, peasants must buy vegetables and other foodproducts which they cannot grow.

teachers, doctors, nurses andpther prpfes-sibnals also suffer under U.S. domihatioh Ofthe country, A university professor we methad hot been paid in four mpnths, and earnsonly about $200 aihonth, Teachers are forcedto pay for basic schopl supplies like chalk piitof their earnings of around SSp-ldO a month.Thousands pf professionals, along 'withworkers, leave the Philippines each year fPrjobs in other countries, tnainly in the U.S.U.S. imperialism is bleeding the country oflarge numbers of intellectuals and professionals, as well as some of its most valuable labor.

Strategic IqcationThough the U.S. is by far the dominant im-

pierialist power in the Philippines, the SovietUnion also has its eyes on the country as partof its quest for world domination. Its strategyin Asia is to cut off vital sea lanes for the

^Western powers and replace the UiS. as thedominant superpower.

The U.S. is therefore bent on maintaining aheavy military presence, in addition to spending $100 milliona year in aid to prop up theMarcos dictatorship. With the end of the U.S.occupation of Indochina, the Philippines isthelast major military stronghold for the U.S.in Southeast Asia. The U.S. has 20 rriilitary installations and bases there, Goyeribg 200^000acres. Clark Air Force Base is the largest U.S.base outside the U.S., and the Subic BayNaval Base is the headquarters of the U.S. Pa-,cific 7th Fleet, and there are also reports ofnuclear warheads stored at Subic.

Over the years, the bases huve been used forstrategic U.S. offensives against China,Kotea^Kampuchea and Viet Nam. Last year,aircraft carriers sailed from Subic to patrolthe Persian Gulf as part of U.S. meddling inthe I ran cr is is .

The bases also serve as training groundsand arms suppliers for Marcos' forces, aimedat suppressing the guerrilla fronts of the NeyvPeople's Army (NPA) and the Bang sa Moro,Army pf the Moro National Liberation FrontThe 11.3, has armed Marcos- troops withSabre jets, C-47 gunships, armed helicoptersand modern weaponry. The tJf.S, currentlyprefers that Pilipiiios carry but the maincouhierrinsurgehcy attacks, thbiughal least 25U.S. personnel have been killed in combatthere since the late i96b's,

The Filipino masses have raised a strongand persistent demand to remove all U.S.bases from the Philippines, as part of endingU.S. control over their country. The U.S.maintains that the bases are needed to protectthe Philippines from Soviet and Vietnameseaggression, but leaders of the CommunistParty of the Philippines quickly exposed thisc la im as an excuse fo r con t i nued U .S . domination of their country. The bases are usedagainst the Filipino people and. their thirdworld neighbors, and they constitute foreigntroops occupying Philippines land.

They add that the people's rpHitias, theNPA forces and the Moro liberation fightersare growing in strength, and that the Filipinopeople are capable Of defending their owncOitntry from attacks by any foreign power.

At the same time, the Soviet threat is a rea!

one. aiid it takes many forms.Economically, the Soviet Union wants to

exploit the Philippines and is buying up largequantities of sugar and copra (dried coconut),while vying for a share of the Philippine market to sell its high-priced industrial goods.

The Soviets also give a reported $40,(XK) at atime to the pro-Soviet Lava group, made upof some former leaders of the CommunistParty of the Philippines who turned revisionist in the 1960's, renounced armed strugglea n d l a t e r s u r r e n d e r e d t o t h e m a r t i a l l a w

regime.Without shame, the Soviet Union has even

made open efforts to butter up the Marcos regime. The President's wife, Imelda Marcos,was decorated with a Soviet medal and made"honorary chairman" of the Republic of thePhilippines-U.S;S.R. Friendship Association.

The Soviet social-imperialists also assist t heMarcos regime in suppressing the revolutionary movement. Roque Ablan, Jr., presidentof a company acting as agent for Soviet-madeplanes, has pushed for the Philippine AirForce to buy Soviet planes especially suitedfor use in countryside operations — in otherwords, against the people's armed forces.Meanwhile, Moscow Radio and the Vietnamese media fry to discredit the revolutionarymovement by calling the New People's Army"terror is ts."

Its own track record shows that the SovietUnion is no more a friend of thePilipino people than is the U.S. This is why the CommunistParty of the Philippines wrote in its partynewspaper, Ang Bayan, that the people must". . . stresstherevolutionarystruggleagainstU.S. imperialism while staying alert to theschemes of Soviet social-imperialism."

Growing opposition to MarcosDuring pur visit, even the legal press

showed a country in turmoil. I'he papers arefilled with news of military trials of Marcos'opponents, battles between governmenttroops and the New People's Army, and stories of the oppressed Moro people in thesouthern Philippines fighting a guerrilla warfor self-determination.

Marcos is assessing the situation domestically and internationally , hoping to shore upsupport'for his regime. He is looking for acredible opposition candidate who will runagainst him — and lose. Better known opposition leaders such as former senator BenignoAquino have so far indicated they wij} notr u n .

Over the past year, Aquino and other former Philippine politicians have stepped uptheir vocal opposition to martial law. Theyhave been associated with the former editor ofBusiness Day and others who were arrested byMarcos for participating in the April 6th Liberation Movement and accused of planningterrorist activities. The CPP strongly condemned the terrorist bombings because theydiscredit leftTorces and heighten repression.

In the view.ojf the CPP, the April 6th Liberation. Movement is made up mainly of formerMarcos supporters who are seeking to provideU.S. imperialism with an acceptable alternativeto Marcos, and who have not taken a clear standin opposing U.S. bases in the Philippines.

The U.S. helped Aquino get out of the Philippines and enter the U.S. last year after hisrelease Ifom a Philippine prison, though atpresent the U.S. continues to give full supportto the Marcos regime.

The NPA plans to step up its activitiesagainst Marcos and the U.S. imperialists; inthe next issue, we will describe our visit to anNPA guerrilla zone and the situation in thecountryside where the resistance movement isthe strongest and where 80% of the Pilipinopeople live.

NPA fighters keep their weaports nearby durirtg meetings. (UNITYphotos)

This is ihesecondof a iwo-pari series.All names have been changed to protect theidentity of the people.

Darkness had just fallen as we walked downthe dusty din road in the center of a barrio inCentral Luzon province. On either side of uswere New People's Army (NPA) guerrillas,openly carrying M-16 and M-2 automaticr i fl e s .

It was a warm night, and the townspeoplewere standing in front of their homes. Manycalled out friendly greetings to the guerrillas aswe passed. Everyone knew the NPA was intown. While we stayed in the barrio for over 24hours, not one peasant notified the PhilippineConstabulary (PC — the Marcos regime'scounterinsurgency police).

We learned that in parts of Central Luzon,the Marcos regime has only shaky control ofthe barrios by day. The NPA, on the otherhand, has the support of the people and inreality controls the barrios. But in this flat terrain the NPA fighters come out mainly at

night to avoid being spotted by the enemy.The .Marcos regime considers the NPA to

be a major threat. Through traveling and talking with the NPA and meeting their peasantsupporters, we learned how the NPA hasgrown from 60 guerrillas with 35 firearms in1969, to a force with 28 guerrilla zones covering every majorprovince. Wefoundthai Central Luzon peasants in particular have a longhistory of involvement in the struggle, datingback to the days of the Huk resistance to Japanese militarism during World War II,

Peasant organizingArthur Reyes has farmed the fields in his

barrio for most of his 50 years. He is an activeNPA supporter and a leading peasant in thebarrio. Traveling down a river late at night,we saw h is four - room house s i lhoue t tedagainst an isolated field. He built it himselfand lives therewith his wife and five children.

There is no electricity, running water or indoor plumbing in the Reyes home. When night

ccines they bring out glass jars, each filied withkerosene and a cloth wick. The lamps cast afeeble light in the room as we talked about whyhe supports the NPA.

"In some ways the relationship between thelandlords and peasants hasn't changed in ourbarrio for centuries," he began, "it's like feudalism. We work in the fields all day, but thelandlord makes all the money. He used to walkthrough our barrio to collect his rents — 50%of our crop, and more when he cheated us.'' In the early 1970's, the NPA sent in an expansion team to organize a peasants association in our barrio. We demanded a lower landrent. After we got organized, the landlordonly came with a PC squad for protection."

Reyes' oldest daughter Mary cut into theconversation. "Then the NPA ambushed aPC squad just outside our barrio," she said."After that, the landlord thought he had better lower the rent. Now he doesn't dare show.his face here at all!"

Arthur Reyes added, "We understand thatwe have other enemies, too. Today the government forces us to buy IRRl rice (a high-yield rice) seed and expensive chemical fertilizers. This is part of Marcos' phony land reform program where the landlord no longershares expenses. We can't afford to pay cashfor the seed and fertilizer, so we take out bankloans. Their money comes from big U.S.-owned banks at high interest rates. The banksalso set the price for our milled rice. Theymake sure we never get out of debt. Last year 1earned 3,100 pesos ($385 U.S.) from my harvest, but 1 only kept 784 pesos ($100 U,S.)after expenses. How can a family survive onthat?

"That's why the NPA says we suffer fromthree enemies," Reyes concluded. "The landlords, the Pilipino comprador capitalists andU.S. imperialism. Weare fighting not only forour land, but for the liberation of our countryfrom foreign domination."

T h e N P A

The NPA squads in Central Luzon move onfoot from barrio to barrio under cover ofnight. They stay in peasants' homes like theReyes' and get all their food, clothing and

even sandals and toothbrushes from peasantsupporters. They travel light, with only theirweapons and enough clothes to fit in a backpack.

The NPA squads at this time are mainlyarmed political teams. They do political education and organizing as Mr. Reyes described.They carry weapons for protection and forsurprise encounters with the enemy.

Within the barrios they organize associations for peasants, women and youth. When abarrio is consolidated, the families elect a barrio committee — a representative council ofmostly poor and middle-income peasants.This revolutionary committee effectively gove r n s t h e b a r r i o .

We had a chance to see firsthand how an organized barrio operates. One night just beforewe fell asleep in a pedant's home, a memberof the barrio committee came to warn theNPA squad that there was PC activity on themain road nearby. The barrio committeesecretly dispatched peasants to the roadside tocount the number of PC troops and try to findout what they were doing there.

They counted more than 1(X) PC at different points along the road. After some discussion, the squad leader decided it would besafer to move to another barrio. We quicklypacked our gear and marched through themuddy rice fields. The NPA fighters are accustomed to this nightly trek in the dark andknow the land well, so they don't even need touse flashlights.

When we arrived at our destination, it wasthe middle of the night and everyone wasasleep. Yet the NPA squads assured us wewould be able to stay in any household in thebarrio. After awakening and talking with thelocal barrio leadership, we were given a placeto stay. As soon as we entered the peasants'home, the family prepared places for us tosleep and even cooked us a snack.

This is just one example of how the barriocommittees work with the NPA to defend andrun the barrios. They also control cattle rustling and other crimes once common* in thisregion.

The organized women keep a watchful eyeas they do their daily chores and work in the

flelds. If they spot strangers or suspicious activity, th notify the barrio committee who inturn notifies the NPA. The youth and evensmall children learn at an early age that theNPA fighters are their friends while the PCand Marcos are their enemies. The children,too, act as look-outs for enemy activity intheir barrios.

NPA strategyThe people say the NPA is their army. The

NPA fighters say they are able to grow andcontinue thdr revolutionary activity becauseof the masses' support. The strefa^ of theCommunist Party of the Philippines (CPP)andtheNPAcomes from their ability toapplyMarxism-Leninism-Mao 2^ong Thought tothe conditions of the Philippines and to showthe masses a revolutionary alternative.

A leading CPP member named George explained that the CPP reconstituted itself inDecember 1968 after the revisionists withinthe old party tried to sell out the Philippinerevolution by gi^dng up the armed struggle.Later, he told us, these same pro-Soyiet revisionists publicly surrendered to Marcos in1974 in return for some government positions. Many of the remaining liberationfighters became roving bandits in afeas likecentral Luzpn. He said the CPP rejected thiscounterrevolutionary path and immediatelybegan rebufiding the party's mass base. TheCPP also initiated the formation of the NewPeople's Army in March of 1969.

From the beginning the CPP and the NPAhave concentrated mainly on organizing thepeasantsand rural workers who makeup 85%of the Philippines' 46 million people. Georgeexplained that the main thrust of the democratic revolution is the agrarian revolution —to democratize the main base of production inthecountry.

He also explained that the reactionarieshave their strongholds in the cities. For thesereasons, the CPP and the NPA adopted astrategy of guerrilla warfare, using the coun-.tryside to surround the cities. The CPP'swork in the cities among students, workers,clergy and professionals is strictly underground due to the heavy repression by the

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Marcos dictatorship.George went on to describe the effects of

geography on the Philippine revolution.ThePhilippines is an archipelago of over 7,100islands. This makes transportation and communications with the central command moredifficult. Also the enemy can surround and hitone island at a time. But the NPA intends toturn th«e conditions to its advantage. TheNPA plans to develop full-scale coordinatedguerrilla operations in every part of the country. This way they can force the enemy tospread out and keep it from striking concentrated blows.

In the southern islands like Mindanao,NPA fighters described the developing closerpolitical ties and cooperation with the MoroNational Liberation Front (MNLF) and itsBangsa Moro Army. The CPP considers theMoros to be an oppressed nation and supportstheir fight for secession from the Marcos

dictatorship.Rec^tly, when the NPA was under attack in

Mindanao, the Moros launched guerrilla operations elsewhere on the island to draw off theMarcos forces. The Moros tie down over half ofMarcos' 200,000-nian army. The NPA says itsalliance with the MNLF is of strategic importance to the Philippine revolution. The NPAhopes to conduct joint military operations in thefuture against their common enemies — theMarcos regime and U.S. imperialism.

Through this kind of political work and revolutionary example, the NPA enjoys greatprestige and support among the masses. TheNPA now has the support of 40,000 non-partyactivists and 800,000active members of mostlyillegal revolutionary mass organizations.

The CPP has also been able to work withbroad class forces as part of the NationalDemocratic Front (NDF). Today, the NDF includes the NPA, the Revolutionary Movement of the Peasants, Christians for NationalLiberation, the Nationalist Youth, the National Association of Health Workers, theNational Association of Teachers and others.The NDF seeks to overthrow the Marcos regime and establish an anti-imperialist coalition government.

George said the CPP sees the Philippinerevolution contributing to the struggle of theworld's people against the two-superpowers— U.S. imperialism and Soviet social-imperialism. They see thegrowing danger of asuperpower world war, especially from themore aggressive Soviet Union. Given thepresence of two large U.S. military bases inI he Philippine^ such a world war would certainly affect their country.

Leaders of the CPP told us that they cont inue to apply Marx ism-Lenin ism-MaoZedong Thought to the current international

and Philippine domestic situations. They support the liberation movements fighting eithersuperpower, whether it is the Salvadoreanpeople fighting U.S. imperialism or the Afghan and Kampuchean people fighting Sovietsocial-imperialism. They continue their fraternal ties with the Communist Party ofCh ina .

George stressed that the main contributionthey are making to the struggle of the world'speople is to make revolution in the Philippines. All the contradictions in Philippinesociety are sharpening. The U.S.-backedMarcos regime is facing grave economic andpolitical problems. The people's movementsare gaining momentum in the cities and thecountryside.

The NPA sees stepping up guerrilla activitythroughout the country. While they do notforesee moving to a strategic offensive withinthe next few years, they plan to advance to anew substage of the "strategic defensive."

In some areas, the NPA is already able tooperate in company-size force, and the government cannot even enter the NPA zoneswithout a massive mobilization. A CPPleader told us they anticipate increasing partymembership several-fold, increasing the number of non-party members in the NPA and improving the political education among NPAand party members. They plan to developfull-time military and political units to be ableto carry out military activity year-round on anationwide basis. All of this work helps prepare the groundwork for a revolutionary offensive later on.

As one CPP member told us, "The choicefor the people is clear: Either continue to liveunder U.S. domination and a fascist dictatorship or join the revolutionary movement. Weare confident they will choose the revolution."

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