Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army- National Democratic Front by: Kimberly Dantes and Jansen Navales

COMMUNIST PARTY OF THE PHILIPPINES- NEW PEOPLE’S ARMY- NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC FRONT

By Kimberly Dantes

Jansen Navales

“…Complacency would be the very bullet that would kill our freedoms and altogether drive us into the dimly pit of uncertainty under a Maoist communist dictatorship. This is the very same attitudinal response/reaction that caused the demise of freedom and democracy in South Vietnam, Kampuchea, Laos, and recently Nepal. We surmise that the citizens of these countries not only failed to do their share in the defense of their freedoms and rights, especially the right of choice, speech, and to live as a family, but did not lift a finger to confront and oppose the onslaught of the communist forces.”

• Jun M. Alcover, ANAD Partylist, 2009

The statement above shows how people define the CPP-NPA-NDF in the Philippines. They define each group as a group that uses force to oust the Philippine government. People see them as people who create terror and contribute nonetheless to peoples’ suffering. In fact, some members of the society aim mostly almost the same and that aim is to stop these so-called rebel groups in order to stop the war between them and the members of Philippine military troops.

However, this group claims to have its purpose contrary to how people define them. In order to understand the CPP-NPA-NDF group, we need to dig into the world of history. In doing so, the following summary is given below:

1. History of:

CPP – Communist Party of the Philippines

NPA – New Peoples’ Army

NDF – National Democratic Front of the Philippines

• Protracted Peoples’ War
• First Great Rectification Movement
• Second Great Rectification Movement

2. Ideology (CPP,NPA and NDFP)
3. Aims/Purpose of each Group
4. Financial Assistances

1. History/Origin of CPP-NPA-NDF

On Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP)…

The Communist Party of the Philippines is a leading communist party in the Philippines. It remains an underground political organization since its founding on December 26, 1968 and has been operating in underground manner.

According to Party documents, in the 1960s, a massive leftist unrest called First Quarter Storm occurred in the country to protest against the government policies, graft and corruption and decline of the economy during the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos. The unrest was also inspired by the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, the Vietnam War and other revolutionary struggles abroad against United States imperialist aggression.

One of the leaders of this leftist movement was Jose Maria Sison, a founder of Kabataang Makabayan. He was soon recruited to be a member of Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas (PKP-1930).

On New Peoples’ Army (NPA)…

New Peoples’ Army (NPA) is the military wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and is a Maoist group formed in March 1969.

The New People's Army (NPA) conducts its armed guerrilla struggle based on the strategical line of protracted peoples’ war. They collect from business owners in areas where it operates. This includes mining and logging operations - especially foreign owned enterprises that provides employment to the people with the belief that crippling the country's economy would give favor for a revolution to occur. The Communist Party of the Philippines refers to the NPA as "the tax enforcement agency of the people’s revolutionary government".

The U.S. State department labeled the NPA as a Foreign Terrorist Organization; however, the Government of the Philippines has delisted the NPA as a terrorist organization in 2011 and has resumed preliminary peace talks.

The New People's Army traces its roots to the HUKBALAHAP ( or Huks), which was organized by the old Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas (PKP) during the Second World War to oppose to the Japanese invasion of the islands. During the war, the Huks gained immense local support, establishing a mass base in whole areas of Central Luzon and in parts of Southern Tagalog region.

However, by the late 1950s, the Huks had been greatly reduced by intense military operations (aided by the U.S. through the C.I.A.) and winning "hearts and minds" tactics under the Magsaysay Administration.

This was aggravated by the old PKP's political and strategic line which constantly changes its appreciation for an armed struggle. By the early parts of the 1960s the Huks were operating in small groups, some resorting to banditry and other similar criminal acts.

On December 26, 1968, the Communist Party of the Philippines was re-established on Marxist-Leninist-Mao Zedong Thought line. Adopting the strategy of protracted people's war, the CPP immediately went about organizing a new people's army. The CPP had previously made contact with former members of the Hukbong Mapagpalayang Bayan (HMB) - to which the Huks changed their name in the 50s - in Central Luzon. On March 29, 1969, the New People's Army or NPA was formed. It had only 72 fighters and was equipped with light weapons. After its initial formation, the CPP and the NPA dispersed and established regional cells in several parts of the country.

On National Democratic Front (NDF)…

The National Democratic Front (NDFP) is a coalition of progressive social and economic justice organizations, agricultural unions, trade unions, indigenous rights groups, leftist political parties, and other related groups in the Philippines. It belongs to the much broader National Democracy Movement (Philippines). The creation of the group provides another base of strength for the achievement of their goal.

PROTRACTED PEOPLES’ WAR…

On March 29, 1969, the New People's Army was established and on April 24, 1973 the National Democratic Front (Philippines).

Afterwards, the CPP launched the "protracted people's war" a strategical line developed by Mao Zedong during the phase of guerrilla warfare of the Communist Party of China. The ultimate objective is to install a "people’s revolutionary government" via two-stage revolution: National Democratic Revolution followed by a Socialist Revolution.

The basic concept behind People's War is to maintain the support of the population and draw the enemy deep into the interior where the population will bleed them dry through a mix of 'Mobile Warfare' and Guerrilla warfare.

FIRST GREAT RECTIFICATION MOVEMENT

The reestablishment was considered by the party as the First Great Rectification Movement, criticizing the errors of the old Party. The CPP adheres to Marxism-Leninism-Maoism as its guiding ideology in analyzing and summing up the experience of the party and its creative application to the concrete conditions in the Philippines in fighting US imperialism, feudalism and bureaucrat capitalism. It considers Maoism as the highest development of Marxism-Leninism.

It considers the Philippine society as semi-colonial and semi-feudal, the character of the present revolution as national democratic of the new type (led by the proletariat), the motive forces, the targets, the strategy and tactics and the socialist perspective of the Philippine revolution.

SECOND GREAT RECTIFICATION MOVEMENT

It is an essentially ideological campaign to reaffirm the CPP-NPA-NDFP’s adherence to basic revolutionary principles. This was apparently successful and the revolutionary armed Left grew steadily and gradually in the latter part of the 1990’s. The cumulative growth eventually led to a general acknowledgement that the government’s earlier declaration of “strategic victory” was premature.

2. Ideology

CPP-NPA-NDF, being a communist ideology and political philosophy, officially based upon the theories of Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels and Vladimir Lenin that promotes the creation and development of an international communist society through the leadership of a front line party presiding over a revolutionary socialist state that represents a dictatorship of the proletariat.

Marxism–Leninism is a far-left ideology based on principles of class conflict, egalitarianism, dialectical materialism, rationalism, and social progress. It is anti-bourgeois, anti-capitalist, anti-conservative, anti-fascist, anti-imperialist, anti-liberal, anti-reactionary, and is opposed to bourgeois democracy.

Marxist-Leninist principles seek to wash out anything considered bourgeoisie or idealist from it. It seeks to achieve universal atheism. It supports the creation of a single-party state.

3. Aims/Purposes of each Group

The aim of these groups (CPP, NPA, NDFP) is primarily to achieve changes in the Philippine government although probably with different means. The changes that they aimed for a long time were deprived under different circumstances. Thus, this deprivation lightens the fire that was burned in their hearts long ago.

The CPP has its aim to overthrow the Philippine government through armed revolution with its direct leadership over the New People's Army and National Democratic Front. Because of its direct relationship towards the NPA and NDFP, the creation the two strengthens the CPP to achieve its aim to remove from power the officials of the Philippine Government claiming that these officials are good for nothing and is greatly under the influence of capitalism thus, undermining the peoples’ welfare.

As for the NDFP, their aims are listed below: Unite the people for the overthrow of the semi-colonial and semi-feudal system through a people’s war and for the completion of the national democratic revolution, establish a people’s democratic republic and a democratic coalition government, build the people’s revolutionary army and the people’s defense system, uphold and promote the people’s democratic rights, terminate all unequal relations with the United States and other foreign entities, Implement genuine agrarian reform, promote agricultural cooperation, raise rural production and employment through the modernization of agriculture and rural industrialization and ensure agricultural sustainability, Break the combined dominance of the U.S. and other imperialists, big compradors and landlords over the economy, carry out national industrialization and build an independent and self reliant economy, adopt a comprehensive and progressive social policy, promote a national, scientific and pro-people culture, uphold the rights to self-determination and democracy of the Moro people, Cordillera peoples and other national minorities or indigenous peoples, advance the revolutionary emancipation of women in all spheres and adopt an active, independent and peaceful foreign policy.

The way people looked at it, they refer the acts of these groups as rebellious and creates tremor to the lives of the people directly and/or indirectly affected by their acts. They even hated them having known that they threatens the lives of everyone. However, knowing all this and more, these groups also have their aims in their hearts to do the necessary things regardless of whatever means in order to achieve victory over the other.

4. Financial Assistances

The financial assistances were taken from the so-called revolutionary taxes of these groups. This is done by collecting taxes mostly to foreign internationals and other businessmen whom they considered as bourgeoisie or capitalists. From the money they collected from it, it where they get their living and financial assistances to other needs for defense as well as offense purposes.

Sources:

Uncounted Lives Children, Women and Conflict in the Philippines A needs assessment of children and women affected by Armed Conflict, IBON foundation,2007, Luis Teodoro, pp 10-13

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Democratic_Front_(Philippines), published on July 2012 and accessed on September 2013.