Revolutionary Salute to all Comrades in Arms in the Revolutionary Peoples’ Army (RPA) on its 27^th year of Socialist Revolution!

The year 2020 has been a trying period globally with the new covid-19 facing and managing the pandemic and its serious effects in the economy. The disastrous effects as experienced by the toiling masses and the working class in the urban and rural zones have been devastating. It has become worst in country such as the Philippines because instead of mobilizing medical experts and prioritizing essential services and needs, the rightist and militarist Duterte regime has tapped and positioned all-out its military reserves, arsenal and assets on the streets, countryside, working places, economic zones and government offices allegedly to combat covid-19’s effects but obviously to control peoples’ movements and reaction for the regime’s criminal neglect in managing the pandemic and the economy. The Duterte government has failed miserably in prioritizing life over the greed for blood and capitalist profits and interests. The only consistent activity this administration is known to have its efficiency in killings of helpless civilians in its so-called anti-drug, anti-insurgency and its critics. But at the crucial moment of the pandemic, Duterte has miserably FAILED. Promising nationalist lies, it has submitted to the neoliberal interest liberalizing economy, opening up agriculture to the global market and has initiated the change of the nationalist parts of economic provisions in the 1987 Constitution to favor corporate interests.

To cover up these dismal failures, he has to create fearful and ghost enemies and consolidate the rightist-nationalist section of the bourgeoisie while nipping in the bud the developing critical mass and intensifying the isolation and destruction of the revolutionary movements in the country.

 A Reign of Terror. Human Rights situation deteriorated to its worst

Sow fear and terror- This is the Duterte regime’s game to continue and hold on to its power.

The Duterte’s war on drugs since he took office in 2016 has continued to target the poor and the oppressed. On his first public appearance he had pronounced to end drug problem in six months and he continues to fail since the illegal drug proliferation has been linked to men in uniform, politicians and to foreign and local business friends and circles. Duterte has failed to understand that illegal drugs have only became widespread because it is a well-coordinated and protected with the regime’s machineries which are implementing his crusade. With such situation, the drug problem will not see its end under Duterte’s regime but will only see its worst.

The current regime does not tolerate criticisms to package good governance. Success on his standard means silence and submission of the constituencies. Thus, he needs to oil-up the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippine National Police and other law enforcement agencies by increasing budgets and wages. In addition, he appointed retired Generals to strategic civilian cabinet posts, not to ensure efficiency of service and discipline but to blindly follow and praise the top brass and hold control over their turfs inside the active ranks. This has also become beneficial for the anti-activists and State-machine against peoples’ democratic aspirations. Both compliments under the Executive Order Number 70 (EO 70) and the institutionalization of the so-called ‘Whole of Nation Approach’ to eliminate the communist insurgency. The EO70 is to mobilize all efforts and agencies to neutralize the dissent using the public funds and services for the communities in the guise of “bringing inclusive and sustainable peace”. The other face of the crusade is the criminalization of dissents which is the essence of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020. Anyone tagged or have been critical of the regime can be designated as terrorist of being affiliated, member or supporter to a designated terrorist group. Innocence until proven guilty is out under this law. The rule of law under the Duterte regime has been redefined.

Threats and attacks, including killings of left-wing political activists, critical community leaders, environmental activists, Indigenous Peoples leaders, lawyers, journalists, and union leaders have increased. After the signing of the Anti-Terrorism Law and while the substance of the Law and its Implementing guidelines are still under constitutional scrutiny since there are 39 petitions in the Supreme Court questioning the law, the National Task Force – ELCAC (Ending Local Communist Armed Conflict) and the AFP (the law’s implementing body) have been tagging and murdering political and community militants, activists and workers. The latest was the Southern Luzon Bloody Sunday that had claimed 9 lives of the same pattern of killings and justifications – victims are allegedly allied with the government designated Local Communist-Terrorist Groups (CTG). Dead body can never defend themselves in public. Just like the Duterte’s war on drug, the regime’s security machineries have mastered the planting of evidences.

The same method is used to facilitate corporate interests inside the Ancestral Domains of the Indigenous People’s. Instead of deeply and seriously answering the root-causes of insurgency and people’s resistance, it has militarized the countryside and Ancestral Domains and red-tagged IP leaders. The Tampakan Mining in South Cotabato for example where its extractive mining would affect more than 2 million populations, but Duterte and his minions in the military cabinet and the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples do not really care about the Blaan and T’boli tribes. These tribes together with the communities and the church have continuously fought against this corporate greed. The same with the Kaliwa Dam project in Sierra Madre that is opposed by the locals and Indigenous People communities but the government continued to disregard their pleas.

After a year of militarizing its response to the pandemic, covid-19 is getting out of control and with more than 5,000 daily infections, the regime’s death machineries persecutions and massacres have continued.

The Duterte regime has incurred huge debt (at present billions of dollars from World Bank, ADB and AIIB) allegedly to be used to respond to the pandemic. In addition, from the national budget and the Bayanihan allocations it has around 126 Billion Pesos at its disposal to purchase covid-19 vaccines. To date only more than a million dosage had arrived and it was donated by the World Health Organization (WHO COVAX) and the Chinese government. Worst is, this regime failed to figure out what should be done on its methodologies and priorities in inoculation aside from lockdowns and choke points and so criminally failed to organize its response too while uncertainties and insecurities amongst the population continue.

 Deaths by Government’s Neglect

“I’ll slap the virus” was Duterte’s early March 2020 message responding to the call of the medical community for the closure of airports and seaports as the first step to contain the covid-19’s impact ot the Philippines. Exactly a year after that shameless and unscientific statement (2021) Duterte has recently considered the covid-19 as “it’s just a small thing”. But records show that this government has enormously failed and has caused nearly 13,000 deaths and more than 600,000 infections with more than 50,000 active cases. Now, the government is using the economic impact of the pandemic to justify its plan to amend restrictive economic provisions of the 1987 Philippine Constitution and impose more strict social control.

Without a people, science and medical-based comprehensive plan, the economic impact of the pandemic would eventually choke to death the most vulnerable and marginalized sections of the populations and the whole working class.

 Mainstreaming the Right to Self-Determination Struggles

It is only logical that a new breed of mujahiden will rise to pursue the struggle for the right to self-determination because of the current leadership has not clearly not learned lessons of the past. The government has continued to effectively bring to the mainstream the Moro resistance.

The new BARMM willingly continues to implement the neoliberal economic paradigm in exploiting its own resources. Cases of land grabbing and land occupation are fast happening in preparation for the mass plantations to bring in development and progress to the claimed Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Camps. While Marawi City the only Islamic City in the Bangsamoro Autonomus Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) and the country has not substantially rebuilt and the worst is that the government has failed to involve the Meranao IDPs in rebuilding its City.

The massive displacements of the IP communities inside the BARMM due to continuous armed attacks have definitely reached the attention of the MILF leadership and the BARMM Government. But they blame the assaults and attacks to the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighter (BIFF) but people on the ground have clearly identified the perpetrators to be combatants belonging to the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF).

The political track of the BARMM is highly mainstreamed implementing what have been in-placed by the current dominant system. The Normalization process is basically the parallel reintegration, disarmament and demobilization framework. Bringing in development projects for the community without them being part but mere beneficiaries. This kind of model can never be sustainable to address the democratic gaps and content of the struggle for right to self-determination.

On the other hand, the government of the Philippines has failed as expected to ensure the protection and realization of the democratic Rights of the Indigenous Peoples inside their territory. Distinct from the Bangsamoro and Majority Filipino, the Indigenous Peoples must also be protected as a people. But, for several peace accords and conditions IP ancestral domains have always been the subject for profit extraction to the extent of eliminating those standing for their communities and tribes. These leaders have become easy target for red and terrorist-tagging and eventual elimination.

With the experience of the people in Myanmar nowadays, it is important to note that a multi-nation context of the struggle for Self-Determination or sovereignty from the Imperialist and external powers must ensure that such struggle should help advance the right of the other national minority and oppressed classes. No one is free until everyone is free from exploitation, repression and oppression.

The Duterte administration in short has never learned lessons from the past that the more it suppresses and represses the more it recruits dissents and revolutionaries.

 All of Peoples Approach

From the start, the Duterte regime does not really care about human rights and justice. It has become clearer from its war on drugs, to delivery of social services, to the right of the peoples over their ancestral domains, to the environment and land defenders and the latest in dealing with the covid-19 pandemic it is always in favor to preserving the status qou and defending the dominant capitalist and elite’s interests.

The Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawa – Mindanao (RPM-M) leads the struggle for democracy and sovereignty a complete opposite to the whole of nation approach by a murderous regime of Duterte. The Party confronts in different forms, arena and lines in advancing the rights and entitlements of the democratic forces, the toiling masses, the working class, women, youth, LGBTQ and minority nationalities and the environment activists. The Party with the Revolutionary Peoples’ Army (RPA) have launched all-out peoples’ war against poverty, inequality, achieving gender equality and environmentally balance society. The war which has only been substantial because it is only through and with the oppressed and the toiling masses.

Vietnam in its People’s War had decisively won against the most powerful imperialist power. In Cuba, Fidel Castro and the revolutionary movement have won the revolution in their unique-styled war with the people against the dictatorship.

Today, is the 150 years anniversary of the Paris Commune (March 18, 1871), lessons can be greatly learned that the struggles led by the workers together with the toiling masses substantial victory can be won.

On its 27^th year of Socialist Revolution (March 18, 2021) in Arms along with the Revolutionary Workers Party-Mindanao (RPMM), the Revolutionary Peoples’ Army (RPA) reiterates its commitment to the Socialist Revolution through its all-out war and to all of the oppressed class and peoples. It maintains its commitment to the Unilateral Ceasefire with elements of the Communist Party of the Philippines - New People’s Army – National Democratic Front of the Philippines (CPP-NPA-NDFP) that we declared in 2018. The same with the Ceasefire Agreement our Party, the Revolutionary Workers Party – Mindanao (RPM-M) signed into with the Arroyo administration as our commitment to the Peoples and communities. But it is always prepared to defend the interests of the working class and all the oppressed in any fields of engagement thrown its way by the murderous Duterte regime.

A Revolutionary Salute to the Democratic Forces in the Philippines, Myanmar, Thailand, Myanmar, China, Russia, Australia, Europe, Americas, North Africa, Middle East, Brazil, Mexico and of the whole world standing against the far-right and authoritarian regimes! Let us get inspiration from these waves of movements. Let us strengthen the solidarity of our struggles and advance the Revolutionary Socialist line of march!

Onward Comrades in all forms and lines of Our Socialist Revolution!

Salute to us All!

National Operational Command (NOC)
Revolutionary Peoples’ Army (RPA)
Camp Cielo, Mindanao, Philippines
March 18, 2021

March 18, 1994 - in the middle of Lanao del Sur jungle (Guerilla Camp Ariel) that a Military Conference was called for by the former Central Mindanao Region of the then Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) attended by military and Party cadres that later declared to split from the CPP’s armed-wing New People’s Army (NPA) and called as the Revolutionary Peoples’ Army (RPA). It was also a decision to call for the conference on this date (March 18) to remember the martyrs of the Jabidah Massacre (March 18, 1968) which the radical movement for the Right to Self Determination of the Bangsamoro inspired.