Contribution to the International Communist Seminar
‘Economic Crises and Possibility of a Major World Crisis’
Brussels, 2-4 May 2002

www.icsbrussels.org , ics[at]icsbrussels.org

The national democratic movement of the Philippines
BAYAN

Greetings of unity to all workers of all nations!

If there is a country that has experienced the full impact of US imperialism, it is none other than the Philippines.

The Philippines was an American colony for 47 years (1899-1946) and a neocolony for 56 years (1946 to present). Many people do not know that more than 1.4 million Filipino civilians (20% of the population) died during America's war of genocide against the Filipino people from 1899 to 1916. These civilians died as a result of countless massacres, tortures, hunger and disease due to food blockade and prolonged confinement in concentration camps imposed by US military authorities. These crimes against humanity happened some 60 years before the US war of aggression against the Vietnamese people.

The Filipino people have waged both legal and extra-legal struggle against US imperialism over a period of 104 years. The struggle has intensified due to the tragic effect of imperialist globalization that has worsened mass poverty and widened the gap between the few rich and millions of poor in Philippine society.

The armed struggle of the New People's Army against the lackeys and proxies of US imperialism has been going on for the last 33 years. The most recent developments are the following:

• The NPA now operates in 128 guerrilla fronts compared to only 65 during the Marcos dictatorship.
• Total number of Red fighters now run into thousands, equivalent to several regiments or brigades. It has increased by 222% from 1980 to 2001.
• The number of high-powered rifles also run into thousands and has increased by 197% from 1980 to 2001.

Opposing the revolutionary forces are government troops that include 120,000 from the Armed Forces of the Philippines, 110,000 from the Philippine National Police, and 55,000 from the paramilitary mercenaries for a total of 285,000. This is five times bigger than the Imperial Japanese 16th Army that invaded the Philippines during World War II.

In the legal struggle, membership in mass organizations has increased by 235% from 1994 to 2001. BAYAN-Philippines is the biggest alliance of mass organizations in the Philippines.
This alliance includes the following:

• KMU, the biggest trade union organization.
• KMP, the biggest peasant organization.
• Gabriela, the biggest women organization.
• LFS, the biggest student organization
• Anakbayan, the biggest youth organization

BAYAN-Philippines today has a membership that exceeds 1.5 million.

In the parliamentary struggle, BAYAN MUNA political party came out with the biggest number of votes in the last party list elections. Three representatives of BAYAN MUNA are now members of the Philippine Congress. Two of them were political prisoners during the Marcos dictatorship.

In 1991 a nationalist oriented Philippine Senate rejected a renewal of the Philippine-US military bases agreement that led to the withdrawal of US troops in 1992. American troops have returned to the country last January. This was dictated by President George Bush to puppet President Gloria Arroyo as a fait accompli. The Abu Sayyaf and "war against terrorism" were used as pretext and justification for US military intervention in the internal affairs of the country.

The real reasons behind the present US military intervention are spelled out in US Department of Defense East Asia Strategy Report of 1995. It can be summarized as follows:

1) to promote and secure US economic and geopolitical interests in SE Asia
2) to avail of Philippine territory as staging area and springboard for projection of US military power in SE Asia
3) to control and interdict sea and air lanes traversing SE Asia between the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean and between the Far East and Southern hemisphere.
4) for redeployment of US forces from Okinawa to the Philippines in the face of mounting opposition to continued US military presence on the island from the people of Okinawa
5) to suppress anti-imperialist and national liberations forces and movements in the region in the guise of "war against terrorism".

There are now 3,890 US troops in the Philippines. 1,240 are with Balikatan 02-1 in Mindanao against the Abu Sayyaf. 2,650 are with Balikatan 02-2 in Luzon against the New People's Army.

Since the restoration of US military presence in our country last January, people's organizations have staged continuing protest actions and demonstrations throughout the country. It may interest comrades and friends to know that people's power in the Philippines has already toppled two presidents in the recent past -Ferdinand Marcos in 1986 and Joseph Estrada in 2001.

We in BAYAN-Philippines assert that US military intervention in our country will not bring peace and stability to the Philippines and SE Asia. It will only lead to further expansion and intensification of a people's just struggle against US imperialism which we consider as the scourge of mankind and testament to man's inhumanity to man!

4 May 2002