Advance the Cause of New Democracy

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) is celebrating its 41st anniversary today. The statement issued by the CPP Central Committee-National Democratic Front (NDF)  says that within the next five years, the stage of the protracted people's war under the theoretical guidance of Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tse Tung would have reached strategic stalemate, from its current stage of strategic defensive. Meaning, with the expected increase of armed fronts from 120 to 180, the CPP hopes to achieve a practical, instead of a theoretical "levelling off" of its forces with the AFP.

It is so comforting to know that the CPP now acknowledges the concept of tactical "wave" offensives, a concept which I propounded late in 1991 in the University of the Philippines or what I described as MAO or Mass Advance Offensive. MAO contemplates the State as a living organism, with different cells (cells=cities, government units) working together to repulse the advancement of revolutionary impetus. The strategy therefore, is for revolutionaries to slowly penetrate these cells and cause it to implode upon the weight of tactical initiatives. This is faster than relying on battalion-size formations, since it requires the activation of city partisan units (cpus) which will be deployed with tactical objectives.

The reason why the revolution continues to age and enters a maturity state is it is being pressed down with inactivity, caused by the imposition of CC of shifting focus from political-military work to mainly building armed forces. The abandonment of political work in the Cory years is now bearing the organization down, since the instant shift from regularization of the NPA to the reinvigoration of pol-mil did not go as smoothly as what the CC thought then. Pol-Mil is very important in strengthening and growing revolutionary movements. It must go hand-in-hand in advancing the Cause of the Revolution.

Armando Liwanag recognized the error and has ordered its rectification sometime in 1997 and it should be noted that the new statement by the Party suggest an intensification of recruitment efforts directed at increasing the number of revolutionaries within the ranks of organizers in organizations. This is the right direction. However, aside from re-organizing and strengthening legal front organizations and real-time recruitment, the Party, in order to advance to the next higher state, should utilize newer tools, like the Internet, in spreading the correctness of the Marxist-Leninist-Mao Tse Tung line. As I read the statement of the Party, it continues to provide a correct analysis of the local and international situation and this should be aligned with the current revolutionary strategy. The analysis needs some refinements to resonate with people fed up with the system.

Dominance in the ideological sphere is what the Party needs in order to widen or enhance its party base. This is the real cause why Party influence waned in recent years.  It is not the theoretical line that is being debated upon---it is the correctness of the methodology to advance the revolution that is mainly disputed.

For example, the Party still insists that the current political economy of the Philippines is that of a "semi-feudal and semi-colonial" state. A re-analysis of the current pol-eco is necessary since it is not reflective of reality. Most cities and towns in this country have now entered a stage of "semi-industrialization" brought about by the infusion of capital from the city centers to the towns. There are more small and medium sized enterprises now, and more global brands entering or establishing business in provincial cities and towns. Yes, there are still agrarian-based economies around, mostly in areas where the Party dominates, but these areas are not the reflection of the current economic state. Accepting this shift would mean a change in the direction of the armed struggle.

An implied recognition of this can be gleaned from the Party statement which indicated that it is now growing partisan operative units in urban areas to cause "demoralization" among the enemy ranks. This is a correct tactic.  The re-activation of urban guerilla units is essential not just as a part of the overall revolutionary strategy but also as a sign that the Party is still alive and undertaking great initiatives along the line of the protracted people's war.

If the analysis now is that the State is weaker now than before, all the more relevant or significant is the deployment of such forces in the urban areas. A weak state is susceptible to small scale attacks, particularly assassination, neutralization of specific state industries through partisan work or just plain and simple symbolic attacks against key officials. The work of the ABB at the height of the Marcos regime caused the speedier downfall of the dictatorship.

It is important also for the Party to strengthen its ties with other revolutionary movements. The Party needs to "open itself up" to criticism and self-criticism to be able to hammer out a more correct line that is acceptable to all those working for a New Democracy. The dominance of the Marxist-Leninist-Mao Tse Tung line will actually be felt by other organizations through active debates, not in imposing it upon them. The lack or absence of debates is what caused the demoralization of some adherents to the cause. If the Party totally adheres to the very nature of a revolutionary organization, it must be able to open itself up, spur debates and discussions particularly on the direction of the PPW and "modernize" itself up. The bolder and more correct line should result from these discussions. The protractive nature of the struggle is a repudiation of the current strategy.