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Cover Stories

NDFP’s Miguel Miranda: “The elections

demonstrated that the revolutionary

Left is a political force of national significance” 1

Reactionary Elections Getting More Rotten 7

In Mindanao, FPJ Won But Lost 13

Political Dysnasties Still Rule 17

Uncle Sam’s Hand in Philippine Polls 21

Countercurrent

Akbayan and Its Socialist Pretensions 24

Cultural

Carnival 28

I N T H I S I S S U E

L I B E R A T I O N Vol. XXXI No. 2 April - June 2004

The National Democratic Front ofthe Philippines (NDFP) is an

alliance of revolutionaryorganizations with roots

in the various sectors and regionsof the Philippines.

Its goal is to build a societythat enjoys national sovereignty,

authentic democracy, socialjustice, progress and peace.

It seeks to unite with allforces willing

to achieve these goals.

LIBERATION is the official publicationof the NDFP

LIBERATION website:http”//members.xoom.com/LibeNDFP

E-mail address:NDFP_Liberation@hotmail.com

Telephone:31-30-2310431

Fax:31-30-232-2989

Mailing Address:Amsterdamsestraatweg 50, NL-3513 AG

Utrecht, the Netherlands

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‘The elections demonstratedthat the revolutionary Left

is a political force ofnational significance’

COVER STORIESOn today’s significant issues and events

Interview by Juan Victor

MIGUEL MIRANDA, MEMBER, NDFP NATIONAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE:

TTTTThe National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) believesthat the masses will be able to achieve genuine change only throughthe national democratic revolution. Reactionary elections are mereexercises where the masses are made to choose who among the

factions of the ruling class will oppress and exploit them. It is also a venuewhere the contradictions between the different factions within the rulingclasses are settled thereby consolidating the reactionary ruling system.

But the NDFP does not remain passive during any political event.During reactionary elections, the NDFP, by using its united front tactics,tries to acquire concrete gains for the masses and the revolution, exacerbatethe contradictions between the different factions of the ruling classes,and broaden the reach of the national democratic revolution.

During reactionary elections, the NDFP engages the reactionary classes,not by submitting itself to the latter’s futile processes, but by utilizingthese same processes to weaken the reactionary state and to advance thenational democratic revolution.

In an interview with Liberation, Miguel Miranda, National ExecutiveCommittee member, discusses the NDFP’s analysis of the recent electionsand its aftermath, and the gains of the revolutionary Left and otherprogressive forces.

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LIBERATION: Reactionary elections aresupposed to ease the contradictionsamong the different factions of the rulingclasses specifically on the question ofgetting and sharing political power. Wasthis achieved in the just concludedelections? What are the indications?

On the contrary, the factional strife amongthe reactionaries has worsened. Unpopular evenin her home region, Arroyo had to resort toanomalous use of government funds for hercampaign, massive cheating and outrighttyranny of the majority in the joint session ofthe Senate and Lower House to win thepresidency over Poe with a slim margin. Poeand his allies were up in arms against Arroyofor robbing them of victory. Moreover, theywere incensed by Macapagal-Arroyo’s use ofthe AFP-PNP in depicting their protests againstfraud as destabilization and in violentlyrepressing their rallies. Even Bro. EddieVillanueva had bluntly declared that he wouldnot recognize Macapagal-Arroyo for she is abogus president.

Poe and Villanueva’s protests againstmassive fraud cannot be dismissed as sourgraping. Despite her incumbency and amplefunds to oil her campaign machinery,Macapagal-Arroyo lost in most regions,including the vote-rich NCR, Southern Tagalogand Central Luzon. Though the Josons of NuevaEcija campaigned for her and Poe had nocampaign machinery there to speak of, Poe wonwith a 250,000-vote margin over her. Arroyo isthe first incumbent president to lose in hersupposed bailiwick.

On the other hand, Poe, though lacking infund and campaign machinery, was able totransform his popularity into votes.

Arroyo was able to eke out a win largely byposting an unusually big margin in Cebu,including Cebu City, and Iloilo – more than 1.2million votes – and by reversing the results ofthe canvassing in the Autonomous Region ofMuslim Mindanao (ARMM). NAMFREL’s tallyin the ARMM showed Poe won, but the finalComelec tally reversed it with Arroyo winning

by 300,000 votes. The president was helped bythe AFP and PNP no less in the Moro provinceswhere the counting of votes were held inmilitary camps. Such cases of cheating could notbe regarded as isolated.

Arroyo’s tactics during the canvassing wasto pad her margin of votes where she could onone hand and, in the other, shave off Poe’s bigmargin in many provinces. But because of Poe’spopularity, Arroyo could only conjure up amargin of less than a million votes.

Clearly robbed of victory, Poe and his alliescould not simply accept defeat and be a sportabout it.

Knowing the real score, Arroyo is notconfident of her electoral victory. This is thereason why her administration is so sensitiveto protest rallies being launched by Poe and hisfollowers. She has to rely more on the coercivepower of the state to keep herself in power.

The results of the presidential elections haveall the more emboldened some political groups,especially those with military and policeelements, to promote seizure of political powerthrough a coup d‘etat, with some semblance ofpopular uprising. These groups are supportedby some sections of the reactionary classes.

Cracks have in fact begun to emerge in theruling coalition. Arroyo has eased out some ofher old allies in the cabinet to accommodate newones. She has also revitalized KAMPI, her ownpolitical party, to strengthen her leverage againstJose de Venecia in the House of Representativesand in her bid for prime ministership shouldthere be a charter change.

LIBERATION: If anger against electoralfraud intensifies, where do you think thesituation could lead? What will be theposition of the revolutionary movementif this happens?

Although Arroyo has been formallyproclaimed the winner of the presidentialelections, the issue of fraud will not simply fadeaway. Already, the Catholic Bishops Conferenceof the Philippines (CBCP) has decided toconsider cases of fraud reported by some of the

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influential bishops. This issue,together with problems exacerbatedby the worsening socio-economiccrisis, will engender thedevelopment of mass protest actionsand a broad united front against theArroyo clique. Should there beenough prodding for the militaryand police to withdraw supportfrom Arroyo, she will be ousted evenbefore her term ends.

In this situation, therevolutionary movement willcontinue to launch tactical offensivesagainst the AFP and PNP. The legaldemocratic movement in the urbanareas will unite with political groupsin going for the ouster of the Arroyoregime.

LIBERATION: How do youassess the party-list elections?How did the progressiveparties fare? What do you thinkof the entry of groupsidentified with the military andother reactionary groups,particularly those which are out andout campaigning against the progressiveparty-list groups?

The party-list system has become amisnomer. Although it is meant to give themarginalized and the under-represented anopportunity to be represented in Congress, it isquite difficult for a political party of the poor toget enough votes to reach the minimum of twopercent of the party-list votes cast to gain a seatin the House of Representatives. In the 2004elections, a party-list group needed about260,000 votes to win a seat while a representativein a regular congressional district can be electedwith just 40,000 votes.

The progressive political parties topped therecent party-list elections. But these parties hadto pay a heavy price to overcome concerted andharsh opposition by the AFP and PNP. More

than 60 local leaders and campaigners of theprogressive parties were killed. Specialoperations teams of the Philippine Army openlywarned people in the countryside against votingfor the progressive parties. These parties weresubjected to intense psy-war operations duringthe electoral campaign. They were also victimsof cheating during the canvassing of votes. Inthe Moro provinces, where canvassing of voteswere held in military camps, votes for theprogressive parties were not counted.

But the progressive parties could not bedenied of victory. Bayan Muna garnered a totalof three seats in Congress. Anakpawis got twoseats and the Gabriela Women’s Party, one seat.They won because they have sizeable organizedmass following. Many allies supported themdespite warning by the military not to support

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any of the progressive parties. Lastly, the generalpublic has a high regard for the progressive partiesas reflected in the market votes that they garnered.

Some extremely reactionary politicalgroups like the National Alliance for Democracy(NAD) and Bigkis Pinoy, which have beenattacking the progressive political parties, alsojoined the party-list elections but did not getenough votes to get a seat in Congress. BigkisPinoy and NAD were financed by the PhilippineGames and Amusement Corporation (Pagcor).

LIBERATION: How do you assessAkbayan and other pseudo-Left groups’sperformance in the elections? What doyou think of Sanlakas not beingreelected?

Akbayan did have more votes in the 2004election than in 2001, but it was was helpedimmensely by the AFP and PNP. In the ruralareas, special operations teams warned peopleagainst voting for progressive parties, whileactively campaigning for Akbayan. The AFPand PNP have found in Akbayan a willingpartner in their propaganda campaign againstthe CPP and NPA, like the campaign againstthe “permit to campaign.” “Social democrats”in some dioceses of the Roman Catholic Churchalso campaigned against the progressive partiesand for Akbayan.

Like high-spending traditional parties andcandidates, Akbayan spent millions of pesos forTV political ads which cost at least P250,000.00for a 30-second spot. That it was able to spendso much money belies its claim of being a partyof the marginalized. Akbayan also resorted tovote buying. Rosales had the temerity to accuseSanlakas of vote buying when in fact, operatorsof Akbayan and Sanlakas bumped into eachother while on the prowl to buy certificates ofcanvass in the provinces.

Sanlakas was not able to make it because itdid not have enough mass following of its own.Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP),the labor center identified with FelimonLagman, decided to concentrate its campaigningfor the Partido Manggagawa (PM) which got aseat in Congress.

Alab Katipunan, the party-list formation ofthe Tabara-de la Cruz group, could only mustera little over 100,000 votes.

LIBERATION: What are the gains for theunderground Left from the recentelections?

The recent elections demonstrated that therevolutionary Left – the Communist Party of thePhilippines, New People’s Army and NationalDemocratic Front – is a political force of nationalsignificance. Almost all the major candidates fornational political offices sought the support ofthe revolutionary Left – for its mass base andpolitical influence. In a left-handed compliment,the national security adviser commented in anational security briefing that the communistscan now decide the outcome of an election.

The massive cheating committed by theArroyo clique against her major opponents andthe violence inflicted on the progressive partiesand their supporters by the AFP and PNP havemade it all the more clear why reactionaryelections cannot be the main method for thepeople to gain genuine political power. Thispower is now being exercised by the people andtheir organs of political power in many areas inthe countryside because of gains in the people’sdemocratic revolution that they are waging.

In the urban areas, the underground Lefthas been able to reach more workers, urban poorand sections of the middle classes. It has alsobeen able to gain new allies.

The recent elections exposed further thereactionary and fascist character of the state, thebankruptcy of the ruling system and the futilityof its processes. The masses are discontentedand there are grumblings even within the rulingclasses. The US-Arroyo regime failed to gainlegitimacy for its continued rule. On the otherhand, the revolutionary forces, under the CPP-NPA-NDFP, were able to gain more ground.And as the US-Arroyo regime demonstrates itsinability to solve the worsening economic,social, and political crisis, the CPP-NPA-NDFPwill be able to unite more people under thebanner of the national democratic revolutionwith a socialist perspective.

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REACTIONARYElections GettingMore ROTTEN

EEEEElectoral contests in the semi-colonialand semi-feudal Philippine societyhave historically brought the masses

nothing but illusions of democracy. Forthe different factions of the ruling eliteon the other hand, elections are a venuefor battles for political dominance andsubsequent economic power that pollvictory brings. To get the people’s votes,

COVER STORIESOn today’s significant issues and events

reactionary candidates declare emptypopulist promises, engage in costlygimmickries, and take advantage of theculture of feudal patronage. Guns, goonsand gold have always been the decisivefactors in the outcome of reactionaryelections.

And there was no reason for the May2004 elections to be different.

by Ama San Isidro

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Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo got elected as thePhilippine President only through deception andcoercion, the use of public funds and governmentfacilities to fuel her campaign, buying ofCertificates of Canvass (COCs), and conditioningthe mind of the public through manipulatedsurveys. Even the token space allowed forprogressive parties was marred by the killingsof its members and the suppression of its votes.

The May 10 reactionary elections illustratedjust how rotten the whole ruling system hasbecome. And it is getting more rotten as thepolitical and economic crisis worsens.

Public funds for privateconsumption

It was the first time since thepromulgation of the 1987 PhilippineConstitution that an incumbentpresident ran for a fresh term. Theextraordinary situation was broughtabout by the assumption to power ofthen Vice President Arroyo tocomplete the unfinished term ofJoseph Estrada who was ousted inJanuary 2001.

Being an incumbent allowedArroyo to blatantly usegovernment funds andresources for her electioncampaign.

For instance, Arroyodistributed PhilHealth

insurance cards to millions in vote-rich areas.Not only was it deviously done during electiontime but the card, newly designed, has a pictureof Arroyo cuddling a baby and the words,“Ipaglalaban ko ang kalusugan ng bawat Pilipino.Libreng pa-ospital sa pamamagitan nitong FamilyHealth Card para sa mahihirap” (I will fight forthe health of every Filipino. Free hospitalizationthrough this Family Health Card for the poor).

It was also no secret how Arroyoshamelessly diverted government funds to hercampaign coffers.

A total of P6 billion for example wasdiverted from the funds of the Overseas

Workers Welfare Assistance (OWWA)at a time when its First Quarter 2003records showed that 936 overseasFilipino workers came home sick,

disabled, mentally ill or deadbecause of maltreatment and

adverse working conditions.Worse, to be able to cope with

its dissipated funds, theOWWA has limited thecoverage of its assistanceand enforced stricterpolicies and requisites. Forexample, it has excludedreturning workers whobecame mentally ill frombeing beneficiaries.Overseas workers witharrears in contributionsautomatically forfeit theirbenefits.

The regime’s tokenagrarian reform was alsomade more scant by themisappropriation ofP728 million. AnotherP1.1 billion was takenfrom the funds of theDepartment ofAgriculture, purportedlyto fund farming needs, andP1 billion from theDepartment of Agrarian

Reform. Even some MetroManila mayors and

ANYTHING FOR THE VOTE: Arroyo (left)dances to the election beat during hercampaign sorty in Laguna; The controversialPhilHealth card (above) as campaign material

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congressmen received funds for farm inputs!Meanwhile, Arroyo launched the “Kalsada

Natin, Alagaan Natin” (Let us take care of ourstreets) project, for which the governmentallotted P2.3 billion. It consisted mainly of hiringstreet sweepers who were made to wearuniform t-shirts emblazoned with Arroyo’sname. The project of course lasted only as longas the campaign period. Larger than lifebillboards of Arroyo and the project howeverwere displayed at strategic places, serving asfree campaign materials.

Local politicians, from the mayor down tothe barangay captain, were also given theMunicipal Building Fund of P7.3 billion. TheDepartment of Interior and Local Government(DILG) on the other hand gave P714 million as“grease” money, or pampadulas, to barangayofficials.

According to reports, Arroyo spent as muchas P15 billion for her entire campaign.

Manipulation of resultsAs in every election, money poured like

rain. It is ordinary occurrence for a P100 to P500peso bill to be pocketed, or even of higheramount depending on the political stake.Handing out of money, sometimes giftcertificates, even near polling places were socommon that some were even caught ontelevision.

But what distinguishes the May 10 electionsis the brazenness by which the Commission onElections was utilized to channel bribes andmanipulate results. Thus, fraud was committedmore systematically and on a very large scale.

In one instance, Regional Director ArmandoVelasco of the Commission on Elections in theCordillera Administrative Region (Comelec-

CAR) was reported to be distributing money toprovincial election officers and supervisors. Thesource said that “the distribution was made toensure that incumbent president GloriaMacapagal-Arroyo would get the maximumpossible Cordillera votes.”

The manipulation was so widespread thatthe results were ludicrous. There were areas,such as in Pangasinan and most especially inMindanao, where none of Arroyo’s rivals got asingle vote. There were also a lot of cases wherethe total number of votes that presidentialcandidates received exceeded the number ofvotes cast.

In Cebu and Iloilo, where Arroyosupposedly got her winning votes, the voterturnout was very high compared to the nationalaverage and the turnout in these provincesduring previous elections. Arroyo cannot claimoverwhelming popularity so as to motivate themasses to uncharacteristically turn up en masseand vote for her. How can she when she losteven in her home region!

Certificates of Canvass were obviouslyswitched in favor of Arroyo. The mostcontentious issue during the joint committeecanvassing in the Philippine Congress was theopening of election returns. The administrationparty refused to open even one for fear that itwill not tally with the CoC.

The independent election watchdog Patriotsdocumented 1,427 cases of disenfranchisement,26 cases of electioneering, 75 cases of votebuying, 87 cases of irregularities in thecanvassing of votes, 27 cases of ballot boxsnatching/switching totaling to 1,642 cases ofgeneral fraud incidents. The report was basedon the group’s monitoring from May 9 to 14 inselected areas.

NOT FUNNY:Presidentialcandidates Arroyo,Fernando Poe Jr.,Panfilo Lacson, RaulRoco and EddieVillanueva are thelead clowns in theelite’s circus calledelections

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No space for progressivesViolence against progressive parties has

been evident in the history of Philippineelections since 1947.

In 1987, the Partido ng Bayan (People’s Partyor PNB) was formed by political detainees freedby the Aquino administration in 1986. Someknown leaders of the legal mass movement ranunder PNB for seats in Congress and Senate. Butthis entry in the field of mainstream politics isremembered more by the murder of PNBpresident and KMU chairperson Rolando Olalia.At least 35 members and officers of the PNB werekilled during the campaign period in 1987.

Needless to say, not a single PNB candidatewon at the national level. There were winningcandidates at the local and congressional levelsin areas where attempts at totallydisenfranchising the PNB candidates were tooobvious and would only create too much politicaltension as in the case of Samar and Davao.

It was the last time that progressive forcesparticipated in the elections until in 2001 whenthe political party Bayan Muna was formed. Itwas a baptism of fire as four of its members werekilled during the campaign period alone.

The ruling classes seemed to be incensedwith having to deal with three progressiverepresentatives, who won during the 2001elections, out of the 250 representatives fromtheir own kind that it utilized the whole state

machinery especially the Armed Forces of thePhilippines (AFP), in an effort to prevent themfrom winning again. The state thus launched asystematic campaign of terror, murder and slanderagainst progressive parties and candidates.

As if on cue, the election campaign periodwas signaled by the murder of two Bayan Munamembers in Mindoro. The AFP murdered Atty.Juvy Magsino, human rights lawyer andmayoralty candidate for Naujan, MindoroOriental, and Leima Fortu, public elementaryschool teacher and Bayan Muna provincialcoordinator. They were killed on February 13,just three days after the start of electioncampaign.

The number of Bayan Muna members killedhas reached 38 as of this writing while two GabrielaWomen’s Party coordinators have been slain.

Violence is also directed toward candidatesendorsed by progressive party-list groups. InBarras, Rizal for instance, the mayoraltycandidate openly endorsed by Bayan Muna wasabducted just before the elections. He has notbeen seen since.

In some Moro provinces in Mindanao,gubernatorial candidates who supported theprogressive political party Suara Bangsamoro werecoerced by the military to withdraw their supportduring the final stretch of the campaign period.

The most unabashed cases of fraud werereported from Moro communities in Mindanaoand the National Capital Region. Election

ELECTION SCENES: Voter finds it hard to choose Mysterious brownouts changed the election results in many areas

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Returns collected by the Suara Bangsamoroshowed that the progressive political party wasdenied of at least 55,000 votes.

No less than the Arroyo regime’s NationalSecurity Adviser Norberto Gonzales was theprincipal author of the red-tagging and red-baiting campaign against the progressivegroups. A few days before election day,Gonzales announced that the six progressiveparty-list groups were communist fronts andthat funds allocated for Bayan Muna during itsfirst term in congress were channeled to theNPA.

In the countryside, posters, leaflets andother propaganda materials, were posted anddistributed to the masses by government troops,intelligence agents, and co-conspirators from thebandit Revolutionary People’s Army (RPA).

Even the Church-based, independentmonitoring center called the Patriots was notspared. After it started exposing the deceptionand coercion taking place in many provinces,the Philippine National Police (PNP)maliciously tagged it as a communist front.

Worsening crisisand contradictions

Contrary to what the Arroyo cliqueexpected, the May 10 elections did not give hera clear mandate to rule for another six years.Even the CIA sponsored “election observers”

failed to give a semblance of credibility to theresults of the reactionary elections.

Instead, the results of the reactionaryelections further worsened the contradictionsbetween the different factions of the ruling class.Not even the ruling reactionary political partyis spared from such contradictions. The Arroyofaction immediately revived Kampi to servenotice to the Lakas-NUCD that it is thedominant group within the ruling faction.

Expectedly the disenfranchised as well asother factions of the elite are planning civilianand military actions to oust the Arroyo rulingclique. The ruling clique reacted with severity,violently dispersing any form of mass action.At the same time, it tried to court the Estradafaction by granting its request for house arrest.

The contradictions between the reactionarystate and the Filipino people are likewiseworsening. The masses are becoming morerestless. There is a strong public sentiment thatthere was massive cheating during theelections. The potential for mobilizing themillions who voted for the opposition cannotbe totally discounted. While it may seem thatthe opposition had lost steam in its campaignto assert its victory, the increasing awarenessregarding the futility of reactionary electionsthat the masses have gained because of theirexperience will provide the fertile ground fororganizing for the national democraticrevolution.

Ballot boxes tightly guarded by soldiers AFP soldier meddles in the tabulation of votes in Abra

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Thus, the hold to power of the Arroyoregime is very tenuous. Not only did it fail toget a fresh mandate but it is also confronting aneconomic crisis that is beyond its will andcapability to solve or even mitigate. The onlyway it can prop up the economy is to acquiremore debts, send more overseas workersabroad, and make the Filipino people bear thebrunt of the crisis. Thus, it has come to the extentof sending workers to support the US warmachine in the Middle East therebyendangering the safety of overseas Filipinoworkers.

The regime continues to incur more debts.Consequently, it had to kowtow to the demandsof US imperialism to push further the policiesof liberalization, deregulation, andprivatization. But these policies translate intoworsening the country’s trade and fiscal deficitsas a consequence of more imports but withlesser tariff revenues.

From 1995-2001, tariff collections by thereactionary government plunged from US$ 4million to US $2 million. Furthermore, theseincreasing deficits pull down the value of thepeso thereby pushing the country deeper intodebt. With a public debt of PhP5.2 trillion, whichis larger than the Gross Domestic Product by137%, the Philippines is on the brink of a crisis

similar to that which led to the financial collapseof Argentina.

The US Arroyo regime is making theFilipino people bear the brunt of the crisis notonly through imposing new taxes. The new taxmeasures in itself will have the effect of raisingprices, as the taxes will be passed on to theconsumers by businesses, and will bleed theordinary Filipino of his/her meager income.The masses are already suffering from thederegulation and privatization regimen as thegovernment has practically abandoned them tothe profiteering schemes of foreign monopolycapitalists and their bourgeois compradorlackeys. Oil prices have increased with impunitywithout a token of intervention fromgovernment. Water companies have beenpushing for more rate increases. The Lopezesand their foreign partners are raking in profitsas both independent power producers andelectricity distributors.

As the revolutionary forces consistently growstronger, ideologically, politically, andorganizationally, its capability to politicize,organize, and mobilize the masses increases byleaps and bounds. It is in a better position thanever before to maximize the worseningcontradictions between the reactionary state andthe Filipino people and utilize its strength and

influence as well as itsunited front capabilities tooust the Arroyo cliquefrom power and therebyfurther weaken the rottenruling system.

At the same time, itcan maximize theworsening contradictionsbetween US imperialism,the compradorbourgeoisie, and biglandlords on one side andthe Filipino people on theother and tenaciouslybuild up its revolutionarystrength towardsbringing the nationaldemocratic revolution toa higher phase. ANTI-COUP: Several battalions of AFP troops deployed in Metro Manila during the election period

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According to the Social Weather Station(SWS) exit polls, Luzon goes to Fernando Poe,Jr. (FPJ), but Visayas and Mindanao go to GloriaMacapagal-Aroyo (GMA) offsetting the marginof FPJ in Luzon. These jived with the logic of theGMA camp, forecasting a more than a millionvotes margin over FPJ. This is also reflected inthe COMELEC canvass and expectedly in theJoint Congressional Canvassing. This scenariopresumed that there were only isolated and locallevel frauds, not qualified to be called a“nationwide conspiracy” and cannot affect theoutcome of the presidential derby.

Their general assumption is that Luzonrepresents more or less half of the total numberof votes nationwide, while Visayas andMindanao, more or less shared the other half ofthe votes. In Luzon, the GMA camp admittedto losing to FPJ by a margin of 1.7 million votes,but they claimed victory in Visayas with a widemargin of 2.3 million votes and in Mindanaowith a margin of 470,000 votes. The result is thatGMA’s big margin in the Visayas plus that of

by Jorge “Ka Oris” Madlos

TTTTThe recent May 10 national elections is arehashed tale of how a winner lost and aloser won in an election attended by

violence and fraud, where the real losers are:truth, democracy and the people.

Mindanaois more thanenough to offset FPJ’s lead in Luzon evenallowing an overall victory for GMA of morethan 1 million votes.

Our own study shows that GMA lost in theMay 10 national elections. GMA’s highlyquestionable 2.3 million margin in the Visayasis not enough to offset her big combined deficitin Luzon and Mindanao. But since the GMAcamp claimed they won in Mindanao by almost500,000 votes, as Mindanaoan we owe it to thewhole country to tell the truth that GMA indeedlost in Mindanao.

First, let’s take a critical analysis of theCOMELEC data per region in Mindanao. Letus focus on the votes of GMA and FPJconsidering that Lacson, Roco, and Villanuevaare very much behind.

GMA got the biggest lead in the whole ofMindanao in ARMM, where she led by 251,515votes over FPJ. Ironically, she “won” in the areawhere GMA unleashed her “all out war” and

FPJ wonIN MINDANAOBUT LOST

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“anti-terrorism campaign” that launched urbanbombings, committed rampant human rightsviolations and left 500,000 refugees. Thecombined efforts of the COMELEC, the 6thInfantry Division, Philippine Army (ID, PA)andthe Ampatuan-Datumanong political clansdelivered winning votes through massive fraud.In 11 municipalities in Maguindanao, “election”was already done the day before the scheduledelection. Many precincts were canvassed insidethe 6th ID, PA headquarters where no mediaand poll watchers were allowed to enter. InLanao del Sur where COCs are sold to thehighest bidders, GMA led by 84,999 votes, andby 32,470 votes in the provinces of Basilan, Suluand Tawi-tawi where the military reignedsupreme.

In the CARAGA Region, GMA got thesecond highest lead of 210,775 votes fromamong the regions in Mindanao throughrampant vote buying ranging from 200 to 1,500pesos and through selective “specialoperations” during power outages in Agusandel Norte, Surigao del Norte, Butuan City andSurigao City. All the big political clans and thepersonalities in the region such as the Barbers,the Amantes, the Plazas, the Pimentels andButch Pichay supported GMA. Moreover,representative Glenda Ecleo of Dinagat Islanddelivered a big margin of votes in gratitude for

the release of her parricide convicted son RubenEcleo Jr. prior to election. More still, it wasreported that ballot boxes from Dinagat weretampered with while in transit to the provincialcanvassing center.

In Region IX, GMA led by 88,927 votes overFPJ. In Zamboanga del Sur and Zamboanga delNorte, GMA led by 106,566 votes and 99,845votes respectively where all the leadingcongressional and gubernatorial candidateswere pro-GMA and where vote buying rangedfrom 500-1,700 pesos. Five barangay captainswere killed in election related incidents inZamboanga del Sur alone, the highest numberof casualties among the non-Moro provinces.GMA’s big defeat in Zamboanga City by 80,927votes and by 29,841 votes in Zamboanga deSibugi slashed GMA’s lead. The biggest ironythough, is the 7,112 votes lead of FPJ over GMAin the very province which Arroyo claims to beher second home province, Lanao del Norte.Here, the Dimaporo clan saw to it that FPJ gotthe statistically improbable zero in someprecincts.

In Region X, GMA is ahead of FPJ by 19,451votes only. With the help of Kuratong Balelengdruglords and the incumbent local leaders shegot 55,819 votes over FPJ. She also led by 41,422votes in Bukidnon with the help of the Zubiris.But she lost by 15,645 votes in Cagayan de Oro

City and by 68,722 votes inthe whole provinces ofMisamis Oriental even asher most reliable politicians,Mayor Emano and nowgovernor Oscar Morenoboth won by a landslide. InRegion XII, FPJ won overGMA by a margin of 91,660votes. She was beaten in thebailiwicks of her ownwinning candidates. TheMalacañang manDomiguez has onlysucceeded in reducing the

Soldiers and armored tanks stationed inpolling areas such as this Mindanaoschool ensured Arroyo’s victory

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lead of FPJ to 19,825 votes in Sarangganiprovince, an Alcantara-Domiguez turf. In NorthCotabato, pro-GMA governor Piñol hassucceeded in reducing the lead of FPJ to 40,201votes only. FPJ’s margin of 177,568 votes wasfurther reduced by half when the questionable85,908 votes lead of GMA in Sultan Kudaratcame in. It must be noted that the electionreturns in 5 municipalities of Sultan Kudaratwere questionable, particularly in themunicipality of Columbio where 4 persons werekilled as the people defended their ballot boxes.

In Region XI, GMA is behind FPJ by 8,676votes, although she won by 1,800 votes in DavaoCity inspite of the 150,000 votes margin of hertrusted leader Mayor Duterte over his rivals. Shealso lost by 1,481 votes in Davao del Norte, thebailiwick of Governor del Rosario, the nationalpresident of the league of governors, her trustedleader. But she got 14,323 votes and 15,092 votesover FPJ in Compostela Valley province andDavao Oriental respectively wheremilitarization is most intense and where 5 BayanMuna leaders and members were killed by themilitary.

The COMELEC figure would show thatGMA won by 470,402 votes in Mindanao. Butthe FPJ camp claims that they were robbed ofover 800,000 votes in Mindanao alone. Our ownstudy shows that had there been no massivevote buying and vote shaving, it would havebeen an easy win for FPJ in Mindanao. Asshown in the above, the GMA winning formulain Mindanao is win through strongorganization, money and selective specialoperations in non-Moro areas and prevent anFPJ landslide in Moro areas by employingmassive fraud, money and terrorism throughthe combined assistance of the COMELEC,military and local warlords.

The FPJ strength in non-Moro areas isshown in his victory in major cities and inrelatively fair elections in some provinces inMindanao. Had there been no massive vote-buying and some vote shaving FPJ would haveeasily thrashed GMA in these areas. Thespontaneous Moro vote for FPJ wasdemonstrated in the 1:2 vote ratio in Cotabato

City and in other areas. Had there beenrelatively fair elections in Moro areas, anoverwhelming Moro vote would have wipedout whatever gains GMA got through massivevote buying in non-Moro areas in Mindanao.The massive fraud was therefore necessary toprevent a landslide victory for FPJ in Moroareas.

Electoral fraud and violence that gave GMAa lead over FPJ in Mindanao also affected theprogressive partylist groups. Due to poll fraud,the actual votes cast for these progressivepartylist groups were greatly reduced andpegged to an equivalent of only 6 congressionalseats for the progressive groups. These benefitthe reformist and counter-revolutionarypartylist groups which were supported directlyor indirectly by the government and themilitary. It is not surprising then that theopposition groups and the progressive partylistgroups are all complaining against electioncheating.

In fact, the intimidation and acts of violencefrom the Macapagal-Arroyo camp against theFPJ group is much lesser compared to thatagainst the progressive partylist groups. At least5 leaders and members of progressive partylistgroups were killed during the election campaignperiod in Mindanao alone aside from thenumerous physical harm, threat, intimidationand psywar propaganda against them.

A clear example of fraud is the case of theSuara Bangsamoro Party which undisputedlytopped majority of precincts in the Moro areas,ahead by as much as 50% against its next rivalpartylist. The COMELEC rules that the SuaraBangsamoro Party did not get the 2% voterequirement but ironically declared AminPartylist the winner whose actual politicalpresence and influence are way behind that ofSuara Bangsamoro Party.

Wittingly or unwittingly, some sectorsamong the religious, business and mass-medialent a hand in justifying that the election wasgenerally peaceful and clean; that fraud isisolated and not affecting the over-allpresidential contest. They reasoned that theopposition has not presented hard evidences;

16

that if there are evidences it should be presentedto the proper courts; that confirming massivefraud is tantamount to helping thedestabilization plots; or simply difficult for themto imagine living under an FPJ-led government.

But objectivity is not wholly dependent onso-called hard evidence. Only an honest criticalanalysis can get us nearer to the truth whenofficial statistical records and so-called hardevidence can get us nowhere. When dictatorMarcos rigged the 1986 presidential elections,fraud was done in such a sweeping and vulgarmanner. Both planners and operators are moresophisticated now making it difficult for theopposition and independent poll watchdogs togather hard evidence. Dictator Marcos wasbooted out of office not through reactionarylegal processes and institutions but through thepeoples’ collective will.

Nonetheless, it is not difficult to believe thatgovernment funds, resources and facilities wereused for electioneering purposes. The 780million pesos agricultural fund anomaly is justthe tip of the iceberg. It is an undisputable factthat vote buying from both parties was rampantbut this form of election fraud favored the moremoneyed GMA camp. It is also not hard tobelieve that in many Maguindanaomunicipalities election was already done byMay 9. It is also common knowledge that inLanao del Sur and other Moro provinces COCswere sold to the highest bidders. The massmedia themselves captured through theircameras the military’s dirty role in the Moroisland provinces.

Our own monitoring shows that the May10 national elections was not generally peacefulas projected by the GMA regime. Instead it wascharacterized by widespread violence. In 19 outof 25 provinces in Mindanao alone, there were82 election-related incidents where 36individuals were killed from April 1 to May 12.Eighty percent (80%) of this were perpetratedby the government’s armed forces and bypolitical groups and parties allied with GMA.Intense military operations were also launchedin New People’s Army (NPA) areas to ensure aGMA victory.

It is common sense that most if not all ofthese election related violence and fraudbenefited GMA’s election bid rather than FPJ’s.It is also not hard to calculate that the rampantfraud in Moro areas, vote-buying and selectivefraud in non-Moro areas in Mindanao cangreatly affect GMA’s false claim of nationwidevictory.

Granting that evidences are available, theCOMELEC electoral tribunal and supreme courtcan hardly pass the test for impartiality andfairness. As it turned out, the oppositionlawyers, the accusers of fraud in Moro land, arenow the defendants. To whom will theaggrieved go? The last bastion of truth andjustice is the people themselves through theircollective resolve and action.

What is more scary and destabilizing thanto have an unpopular president who wouldprobably be unseated sooner than expectedthrough another People Power or a presidentwho rightly or wrongly was chosen by thepeople? The people, by voting for her opponent,have decided to vote out GMA’s graft riddenadministration, puppetry to big landlords, bigbusinesses and US imperialist dictates andinsensitivity to the people’s welfare.

To those who are in fear of an FPJ-ledgovernment, we do share the sameapprehension considering his close associationwith the plunderers and human rights violatorsand his ambiguous stand on basic peoples’issues. The people themselves shall eventuallyjudge FPJ as he fails their minimumexpectations. Be it GMA or FPJ at the helm ofthis rotten system, the ever-worsening politico-economic crisis is inevitably bringing us to theeventual collapse of the semi-feudal and semi-colonial social system until a new just societyemerges. Our recognition of the current concretesocial realities can hasten the coming of the dawn.

Come June 30, GMA, the loser, shall bedeclared the winner. But as in all reactionaryelections, the real losers are: truth, democracyand the people.

George Madlos is the spokesperson of NDF-Mindanao

17

COVER STORIESOn today’s significant issues and events

by Jacinto Maypagasa andVictoria de la Gente

DynastiesStill RulePolitical

The outcome of the recentreactionary elections is not

surprising -- politicaldynasties still lord it

over in reactionarypolitics. Politicaldynasties are aproduct of the semi-colonial, semi-feudal Philippinesociety. It is atestimony of thepolitical andeconomic power of

big landlords in thecountrysides and the

dominance of thec o m p r a d o rbourgeoisie in

national politics.

18

Political dynasties emergedwhen US imperialism institutedreactionary elections in thePhilippines as a process forlegitimizing its continueddominance over the political,economic, and socio-culturalaffairs of the country and ensuringthe joint class dictatorship of itsmost reliable allies, the compradorbourgeoisie and the big landlords.During the first reactionaryelections in 1907, only propertiedmen, 21 years old and above, andable to write or speak Spanish orEnglish, were eligible to vote andqualified to run. By the time USimperialism granted bogusindependence to the Philippines,it had already taken a firm holdon reactionary political parties,which remained beholden to themtill the present.

The essence of reactionaryelections in the US and thePhilippines are the same. It is aprocess by which, once in everyfew years, the masses are made tochoose who among the factionswithin the ruling class will oppressand exploit them. No amount ofchanges in people occupyingpositions in government canchange the nature and characterof the state. Elections are merevenues for resolving thecontradictions among the factionswithin the ruling classes as to whowill get the lion’s share of thewealth society has generated.

The difference lies in thefact that reactionary politics in theUS and other imperialist countriesare more discreet. As Lenin aptly

puts it, “Bourgeois democracy isthe best political shell forcapitalism”. It obfuscates thedictatorship of the capitalist classby giving a semblance ofdemocracy, the main and onlyexpression of which is reactionaryelections.

In the Philippines, as in allsemi-colonial, semi-feudalsocieties, reactionary politics isvulgar, and characterized byblatant patronage, vote buying,and violence. The battles betweenfeudal warlords for supremacy aresettled through local elections,spiced up by armed skirmishes.Vote buying is rampant becausethe masses are impoverished andthey do not see any benefitresulting from reactionaryelections so they cash in on theirvotes.

While name recall is a plusfactor for individual candidates onthe national level, elections arewon by the faction with the mostresources to bid for the support ofthe local warlords who have themachinery to gather votes and

change election results. At thesame time, the compradorbourgeoisie have their regionalbases as their economic andpolitical capital.

While the faction in powerhas the advantage over their rivalsin terms of machinery andresources, the US can influence theresults of elections through the useof its economic and political poweras well as its propagandamachinery.

Old facesThe results of the May 10

elections reveal the politicaldynasties that remained in controlthrough the years. Some newdynasties have also cemented theirhold to power. There are pocketsof new faces in elective positionsespecially in regions where themasses are fed up with the olddynasties. But the dominant trendremains the same: politicaldynasties rule Philippine politicsperpetuating themselves inmultiple positions from the northto the south.

The Marcoses, ousted frompower in 1986, continue to lord itover in Ilocos Norte by taking holdof the governor and congresspositions. Their ally Ablan alsowon during the last elections.Their only competitor is Farinaswho won a mayoralty position.Farinas is a former Marcos allyand his is a reactionary clan to thecore.

The Singsons of Ilocos Surhave cornered all major positionsat the local position from governor,

The dominant trendremains the same,political dynasties

rule Philippinepolitics perpetuating

themselves inmultiple positionsfrom the north to

the south.

19

vice-governor, mayor andcongressman. The Dy clan mayhave lost the elections for governorbut took the position ofcongressman and mayor. Enrilemade a comeback as senator whilehis son won as congressman.

De Venecia perpetuated hisfirm hold in Pangasinan. Angaradid not seek an elective positionat the national level but his sonwon as congressman and his sisteras governor. The Garcia familyheld the congressionalrepresentative and gubernatorialpositions in Bataan. The same istrue for the Magsaysays ofZambales.

The Gordons have a senatorwhile still in control of OlongapoCity. Noynoy Aquino held on as

congressman of Tarlac. TheJosons also perpetuatedthemselves holding on to thepositions of governor andcongressman. Mikey Arroyo,Arroyo’s son, won as governor ofPampanga.

Even if Maliksi, a formerRemulla ally, won as governor ofCavite, the Remullas got twocongressional positions. TheChipecos took the position ofCalamba mayor and congressman.The old political clans ofRodriguez and Sumulong tookhold of the congressional positionsin Rizal and Antipolo respectively.The province of MindoroOccidental is the battlegroundbetween the Villarosas on one sideversus the Sato-Quintos tandem on

the other. The Mitras still holdconsiderable influence in Palawanand has taken the congressionalposition. While Hagedorn stilllords it over Puerto Princesa.

In Cebu, the Osmena,Garcia, Cuenco, and Durano clanshave taken different positions.The Durano clan held to theposition of Danao mayor andcongressman. Negros Occidentalbelongs to the Cojuangcos.Arroyo’s brother-in-law, IggyArroyo, won as congressman.Other dynasties in the Visayasinclude the Petillas, governor andcongress, and Romualdez of Leyteand Daza of Samar.

In Mindanao, Jalosjos stilllords it over Zamboanga del Nortetaking the mayoralty and congress

FAMILY AFFAIR: A seat in Congress is treated like a family heirloom by the elite, to be passed on from generation to generation

20

positions. The Zubiris ofBukidnon got the gubernatorialand congressional positions. Thesame positions were taken by theRomualdos of Camiguin.Likewise, the Dimaporo clan stillcontrols politics in Lanao delNorte. The Plaza clan held to thepositions of governor and mayorin Agusan del Sur. Other clans thathave perpetuated themselves inpower are Cagas in Davao del Sur,Amante in Agusan del Norte,Barbers in Surigao, Salapuddin inBasilan, and Datumanong inMaguindanao.

Senatorial positions weretaken by old wealthy families suchas Roxas, Madrigal, Enrile,Osmena, Recto, as well asbureaucrat capitalists who havegained wealth and power such asDefensor-Santiago, Lim,Cayetano, Biazon, and Revilla.The ability of the Estradas tocorner two senatorial positions andthe mayoralty of San Juan evenafter the ouster of Joseph Estradais a manifestation of the wealthand resources they were able toaccumulate during Estrada’s stintin power.

In Metro Manila, thebureaucrat capitalists who haveperpetuated themselves in powerare the Atienzas of Manila, the

Binays of Makati, Zamoraof San Juan, Abalos andGonzales ofMandaluyong, Fernandoof Marikina, Eusebio ofPasig, and Asistio ofKalookan.

Worsening crisisChanges in the political

landscape are a reflection of theworsening economic and politicalcrisis. Contradictions between thedifferent factions of the rulingclasses become more intense andviolent. The unorganized massesexpress their disgust over those inpower through reactionary electionsin the hope of seeking change. Voterturn-out is high during periods ofintense political crisis whether inlocal or national elections.

The elections forrepresentatives to the InterimBatasang Pambansa in 1978 andthe snap presidential elections of1985 manifested this trend. Theoverwhelming victory of a movieactor, Joseph Estrada, in 1998 alsodemonstrated the frustration of themasses who are suffering from theeffects of the economic crisis. Atthe local level, this also explainsthe victory of people like GracePadaca in Isabela.

But as the crisis worsens, thereactionary system is wracked byconvulsions erupting in people’suprisings as what happened inPeople Power 1 and People Power2. It is worth noting that PeoplePower 1 erupted after 14 years ofthe Marcos fascist dictatorship butPeople Power 2 happened only

three years into the Estrada regime.The hold of the Arroyo

regime to power is tenuous becauseof the political and economic crisisit is confronted with and themassive fraud it had to undertaketo steal the victory from anothermovie actor, Fernando Poe Jr.Another convulsion leading to itsouster from power will effectivelyweaken further the reactionarysystem. It will make the massesrealize the power it wields throughits collective strength.

But the joint dictatorship ofthe ruling classes, the compradorbourgeoisie and the big landlords,cannot be overthrown and genuinechange cannot be achieved withouteffectively eroding their political andeconomic power in the countrysidesand supplanting it with therevolutionary power of the massesuntil it is possible for the nationaldemocratic revolution to achievevictory on the national scale.

The worsening political andeconomic crisis makes theconditions favorable for theadvancement and eventual victoryof the national democraticrevolution with a socialistperspective. It is up to the forcesof the national democraticrevolution to awaken and arouse ,organize and mobilize the massesin their millions and, as part of theprocess, convince them that it isnot through reactionary electionsnor people power uprisings thatthey can effect genuine change butthrough the armed revolution.Only then will political dynastiescease to exist.

21

UncleSam’s

Hand inPhilippine

Polls

COVER STORIESOn today’s significant issues and events

by JacintoMaypag-asa

W ith Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo having been proclaimed last June 24 amidcompelling evidence of widespread fraud, it might be a big wonder to somewhy the US – which had sent observers to the Philippines under the auspices of

its Agency for International Development (USAID), supposedly to ensure the credibilityof the polls – had congratulated her on her “victory” even before the canvassing of votescould conclude.

22

But then, it shouldn’t be too much of a wonderat all. In 1985, then US president Ronald Reagandeclared that the presidential snap election wasgenerally peaceful and orderly and congratulated thedictator Marcos. It was only after the Filipino peoplestarted a popular uprising did the US withdraw itssupport from the Marcos regime.

The very composition of the US observer teamthat came to the Philippines weeks before theelection—and the very history of US dealings with thePhilippines—shows that in fact, the credibility of thepolls were never in the US list of concerns.

Watchers’ cutThe poll observer team was under the umbrella

of the Consortium of Electoral and Political ProcessesStrengthening (CEPPS), which has a cooperativeagreement with the USAID. Consortium partners arethe International Republican Institute (IRI), the NationalDemocratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI), andthe International Foundation for Electoral Systems.

The IRI and the NDI – representing the USRepublican and Democratic Parties, respectively – areamong four organizations affiliated with the NationalEndowment for Democracy (NED), an organizationfunded by the US government purportedly to “carryout democracy initiatives” worldwide. Otherorganizations affiliated with the NED are: the Centerfor Private International Enterprise (CPIE, USChamber of Commerce), and the Free Trade UnionInstitute (FTUI, American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations).

The origins of the NED can be traced to the CentralIntelligence Agency’s (CIA) covert action operations. Itwas conceptualized soon after the Washington Post, inFebruary 26, 1967, exposed the CIA’s covert actionoperations and its funding conduits worldwide.Patterned after the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung of the SocialDemocrats of West Germany and the Konrad AdenauerStiftung of the Christian Democrats, the NED wasconceived as an “open”, “private” foundation but withUS government funding.

The NED was created by the US Congress in1983. Officially, its aim is to propagate the “virtues”

of the American economic and political system amongthe influential sectors of its target countries, as well asthe ideas of free-market economics, class collaboration,and anti-socialism. It was established to channel USgovernment funds for subverting socialist andprogressive governments and organizations andpropping up anti-communist, pro-imperialistgovernments and so-called “civil society” groups.According to a former CIA operations officer, “Whereasthe CIA had previously funneled money through acomplex network of ‘conduits,’ the NED would nowbecome a ‘mega-conduit’ for getting US governmentmoney to the same array of non-governmentalorganizations that the CIA had been funding secretly.”

For its work, the NED receives from the U.S.government an annual budget of some $33 million. Itchannels the budget to four affiliate foundations andfrom these to rightist churches, judiciaries, media,professional and employers’ associations, universities,“opposition” movements, and civil society groupspromoting US interests.

In particular, the NED, together with the CIA andthe AID, has been funding Cuban exiles and “oppositionmovements” in an attempt to topple the socialistgovernment of Fidel Castro. The NED, AID, and CIAhave also orchestrated riots and military coups againstpresidents Hugo Chavez of Venezuela in 2002 and Jean-Bertrand Aristide of Haiti earlier this year. Both are knownto oppose the US policy of imperialist globalization.

Chavez was ousted from the presidency, but hewas able to return to power through the support of theVenezuelan masses. Aristide was not as fortunate.

The Philippine settingThe US has a history of interfering in the

Philippine electoral process. Which is not surprisingsince the present Philippine electoral system is, itself,a by-product of the American occupation, which – asUS Sen. John F. Miller himself admitted in the late19th century – was part of a larger drive for additionalmarkets for the products of American factories.

The US justified its usurpation of the Filipinopeople’s hard-earned freedom from Spanish colonialrule by employing the garb of “tutelage in the

23

democratic way of life.” Along this line, it establishedan electoral system in the Philippines.

The first Philippine elections were held in 1907. Inthese elections to the National Assembly, only propertiedmen 21 years old and above, able to write or speak Spanishor English were eligible to vote and qualified to run.

Elections continued to be held in the succeedingdecades, which saw the further entrenchment of anelite leadership loyal to US interests. Heavypropaganda and financial support from US imperialismalways works in favor of a particular candidate.

“Independence” was “granted” to the Philippinesin 1946, but the Philippine government has continuedto be bound by economic and military “agreements”favorable to the US agenda.

Meanwhile, political leaders opposed to USintervention in the Philippines, historically, have hadto put up with being maneuvered out of their positions.

Such was the experience of the six representativesof the Left-led Democratic Alliance (DA) in 1949,whose votes constituted a block to Congress’ passageof the Bell Trade Act which allowed US capitalistsequal “rights” with Filipino businessmen in exploitingthe country’s resources. Then President Manuel Roxas,with the support of the US, invented charges of“electoral terrorism” against the DA representativesand succeeded in having them ousted from their posts.

In 1953, the US directly participated inPhilippine elections with the Central IntelligenceAgency (CIA) propping up the candidacy of thenDefense Sec. Ramon Magsaysay. Col. EdwardLansdale, a CIA operative in the Philippines, was theorganizing and directing brains behind the Magsaysayfor President Movement (MPM), a campaign and “pollwatch” group that built up Magsaysay’s image as a“Man of the Masses” and worked to ensurehis electoral victory. The MPM received

financial aids from theCIA enabling it tomount a propagandacampaign and pay anumber of journaliststo do publicrelations work for

Magsaysay in the very publications they worked in.It was also around this time that the National

Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) was first heardof. Ostensibly a poll watchdog group, the Namfrel wascontrolled by MPM operatives who released skewedtabulations of the election results to conjure an earlyperception that Magsaysay was a runaway winner.

Nationalist statesman Claro M. Recto on theother hand was subjected to a smear campaign duringhis 1957 presidential bid because of his staunchopposition to US economic domination of and militarypresence in the Philippines and this contributed to hisloss. Meanwhile, former President Carlos P. Garcia,who won in that year’s election, was castigated forimplementing a Filipino First economic policy.Although Garcia was basically a US puppet, he wasconsistently harassed by the US, which orchestrated anumber of coup attempts against him.

Just recently, progressive party list groups werethe object of attack by the reactionary regime’s nationalsecurity adviser, Norberto Gonzales. Gonzales is aleading figure in the clerico-fascist-led socialdemocrats and a lackey of US imperialism.

Stable US interestsArroyo is the most loyal ally of the US in Asia. She

is the first Asian leader to support the US “war on terror,”even unabashedly declaring her support to the US invasionof Iraq before the meeting of non-aligned nations. Thus,the Arroyo regime was called by war-mongering Bush asthe most reliable US ally from among the non-membersof the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

In the economic field, she is the most assiduouspromoter and implementor of policies favoring USimperialist thrusts from the time she was still a senator.When Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo took over as president,after a people power uprising ousted Joseph Estrada,she relentlessly pursued the liberalization, deregulation,and privatization policies of imperialist globalization.To prop up the crisis ridden economy, her regimeplunged the country deeper in debt. With Arroyo set tosit in Malacañang for six more years, the US is verymuch assured of continued unflinching support for itsagenda in the Philippines.

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by Victoria de la Gente

COUNTERCURRENTOn the Philippine government and US imperialism

TTTTThis passage was lifted from Frederick Engel’s “On theCritique of the Social Democratic Draft Program of 1891.”Engels was criticizing the German Social Democratic

Party for dreaming of a “peaceful” path to socialism. Thisdream of a peaceful path put forward by the German SocialDemocratic Party in its Erfurt Program was prompted by itsfear of another crackdown and the renewal of the Anti-Socialist Law.

The passage best describes theAkbayan Citizen’s Action Party. Partof its core is comprised of incorrigibleopportunists such as Ricardo Reyes,Joel Rocamora, Sixto Carlos, andByron Bocar along with theirunderlings such as Etta Rosales andWalden Bello. All of them bolted theCPP-NPA-NDF after failing to destroythe movement from within by leadingit towards a reformist path. RicardoReyes, the highest ranking formerparty member among them,collaborated with the late PopoyLagman in their insurrectionistadventures before swinging to theright towards reformism after beingpressured by police intelligenceofficers who arrested him.

These opportunists have foundcommon ground with BISIG, a groupof petty bourgeois reformists withTrotskyite leanings. BISIG began as an“elite” organization established by UPprofessors who fancy themselves associalists. They later on startedorganizing efforts among workersbased on a very strong anti-communiststand.

Joining them are the socialdemocrats who became infamous afteregging the government to float bondswhich they themselves conceptualizedand sold thereby earning a hefty P1.6billion profit. This was popularlyknown as the Peace Bond scam. Thesesocial democrats are being led byclerico-fascists based in Ateneo de

“This forgetting ofthe great main

standpoint for themomentary interests

of the day, thisstruggling andstriving for the

success of themoment without

consideration for thelater consequences,this sacrifice of the

future of themovement for its

present may be‘honestly’ meant, but

it is and remainsopportunism and

‘honest’ opportunismis perhaps the mostdangerous of all..”

‘SOCIALIST’Akbayan and its

PRETENSIONS

25

Manila University. Aside from collaborating withgovernment since the time of the US-Aquino regimeup to the present, their main preoccupation is attackingand destroying the national democratic movement.They create obstacles to the peace negotiations whileserving to prettify the rotten ruling system.

The coming together of incorrigible opportunists,petty bourgeois reformists, Trotskyites, NGO racketeersand clerico-fascists resulted in a conservative bourgeoispolitical party with pretensions of pursuing socialism.All Akbayan aims for is to win seats in a parliamentarygovernment and to institute nothing more thaninsubstantial political, economic, social and culturalreforms without altering the essence of political andeconomic relations in the semi-colonial, semi-feudalPhilippine society.

Bourgeois “Socialism”Akbayan describes its programmatic vision and

line as participatory democracy or participatorysocialism. The form which its participatory socialismwill take is a parliamentary government and a partylist electoral system, with an organized civil societywhich engages it on matters of policy regularly.

The tasks of its ideal government are thefollowing:

• ensuring the provision of social services suchas health, education, and housing even as it isopen to the privatization of these services

• regulate economic activity through a stablelegal and administrative system

• development planning• negotiating with other countries in the pursuit

of national interestsIt does not seek to change the character of the

state. In fact, Akbayan tries to differentiate itself fromthe “old statist models, whether of the representativedemocracy under the capitalist order or the thenexisting socialism which collapsed”.

Based on a flawed analysis that the Philippinesis already capitalist, it merely aims to change the formof government from presidential to parliamentary. Ithas the illusion that changing the form of governmentwill alter the nature and character of the semi-feudaland semi-colonial state and the patronage politics thisstate engenders. It also seeks to institute someadministrative reforms to address the problems of

corruption, peace and order, judicial reform, civilservice reform, and decentralization.

Akbayan merely aims to make the dictatorshipof the comprador bourgeois and the big landlords moreefficient for the “benefit of the working people”.Akbayan has the illusion that it can solve the problemof corruption, which is at the core of the rotten system,without wresting the state from US imperialist controland the dictatorship of the comprador bourgeoisie andthe landlord class.

Of course, the people will supposedly be free toengage the government and the ruling classes throughtheir unions and associations with the assistance ofcivil society (read: NGO bureaucrats). But aren’t theseso-called engagements already happening? Numerousunions have been destroyed “legally” with theassistance of the Department of Labor. Thousands ofpeasant leaders and organizers have died, have beenincarcerated, and displaced trying to engage theirlandlords in claim-making struggles. The rulingclasses have the bureaucracy, the courts, the police andmilitary forces to protect its interests.

No amount of laws and policies or changes inmembers of parliament can alter the existing oppressiveand exploitative relations. Marcos made a show oftransforming the government from presidential into aparliamentary form while instituting a fascistdictatorship. The Aquino regime restored formaldemocratic processes and even came out with a liberalconstitution while militarizing the countryside anddisplacing more than a million peasants.

Even in welfare states of Europe where LaborParties won in parliamentary elections, the liberationof the working class was never realized. It was able toprovide better salaries and benefits for its workers byintensifying the rate of their exploitation and passingon labor intensive processes to its semi-colonies. Theirgovernments also co-opted labor bureaucrats to weakenunions. Currently, their workers are suffering pay cuts;their social benefits are being reduced and removed;and they were the first to suffer the fate ofcontractualization.

The ruling Labor Party in Britain merelycontinued the political and economic policies initiatedby the Tories of Thatcher. In fact, the difference intheir programs of government is indistinguishable.The administration of Tony Blair and the Labor party

26

by Salvador Andres

became the staunchest supporter of US imperialism inits war of aggression against Iraq. It is on the verge oflosing its majority hold on government because ofpopular discontent over their administration.

Even if Akbayan realizes its dream of being aforce in parliament, it is doubtful that it will work forthe interest of the working classes. Its economicprogram does not in any way seek to neither radicallytransform existing economic relations nor address thefundamental problems that are pushing the economydeeper into a state of chronic and terminal crisis.

Global competitiveness:A solution to povertyand the crisis?

“While we believe that economic growth andredistributive reform are the most importantinstruments against poverty, an anti-poverty programtargeting the poorest of the poor - especially uplandfarmers, seasonal rural workers, fisher folk, womenand children, and indigenous peoples - is necessary.For labor, a key consideration is that more rapid growthof GNP means more rapid growth of employment. Ifgrowth is sustained until labor surplus conditions arereplaced by labor shortage, wages will rise and theconditions for labor organizing will improve.”

This summarizes the first plank of Akbayan’seconomic program, Growth and Equity. It also reflectshow Akbayan intends to fulfill its claims that it willtake the standpoint of the working people.

The other planks of its economic platform arethe following: fiscal and monetarypolicy, industrial policy, selectiveliberalization, agriculture, asset reform,sustainable development, and strongand activist government

The key aspects of Akbayan’ssolutions to the chronic and terminalcrisis confronting Philippine society isto attract foreign investments in exportindustries and infrastructure projects;tax transient capital; lower interestrates; develop small to medium scalerural non-farm enterprises; increaseagricultural productivity; institute animproved version of the currentagrarian reform law; tax reform; urban

land reform; environmental sustainability; and electinga government capable of implementing all of the above.

Akbayan never touched US imperialist controlover the political and economic life of the country. Itnever called for the abrogation of unequal treaties andagreements that bind the Philippines into subservienceto US imperialism. Akbayan does not aim to changethe import-dependent, export-oriented characteristicof Philippine economy. It is silent on the issue offoreign debt which is draining the resources of thecountry. And Akbayan merely seeks to moderate theimplementation of the structural adjustment programand the policies of liberalization, deregulation, andprivatization.

Global competitiveness and economic growthunder the crisis-ridden world capitalist system is anillusion. A semi-colonial, semi-feudal economy cannever compete under the current state of affairs wherea few multinational corporations corner the lion’s shareof the world’s wealth and capital; control theproduction and market of goods; and uses the politicaland military power of its base countries to pursue itsinterests. Aiming for global competitiveness is afallacy when the world economy is confronted with acrisis of overproduction affecting all types of goodsmost especially what semi-feudal, semi-colonialeconomies like the Philippines are producing.

Lowering interest rates and taxing transientcapital will not lead to an increase in foreign directinvestments in a situation where speculative financecapital lords it over the world and constitutes from80-90% of foreign capital entering the country. It can

never stimulate export industrieswhich are suffering from a glut in theworld market or industries for thedomestic market which is flooded bycheap surplus goods from imperialistcountries. Rural industrialization andincreasing agricultural productivity isa dream without breaking themonopoly of land by a few biglandlords and addressing thebackward, agricultural, pre-industrialcharacter of the economy.

Sustainable development is anillusion for a country dependent onraw material exports. It is merely acatchphrase that is impossible to

Being in cahootswith the Marcos

family, rulingArroyo clique,CIA, and AFP,

Akbayan is in thecompany of themost reactionary

elements ofPhilippine society.

27

a c h i e v eg l o b a l l ywithin theframework ofan extractivecapitalist order.

T h eproblem ofp o v e r t yaffectingt h emajorityof theFilipinop e o p l e

cannot beeffec t ive ly

addressed bytoken redistributive

reforms beingadvocated by Akbayan.

Safety nets, tax reform,and its version of agrarian

and urban land reform willmerely scratch the surface of poverty if it will haveany impact at all.

Reactionary to the coreNot only is Akbayan’s socialism a sham, its

reformism is even belied by its actions. Akbayan hasbeen in the House of Representatives of the reactionarygovernment since 1998. But it has not made anyconcrete action whether in the form of resolution,legislation, or project that promotes the interest of themasses.

It has always aligned itself with the ruling factionin order to gain committee chairmanships and easyaccess to funds. Accordingly, its positions on issueswholly reflect that of the ruling party. It evencampaigned openly for Gloria Macapagal Arroyoduring the 2004 elections. But its stint in the Houseof Representatives became memorable for its twoinfamous actions.

First, Akbayan tried to water down the billproviding for compensation for victims of human rightsviolations by the Marcos fascist dictatorship. AsChairperson of the Committee on Human Rights, Etta

Rosales made a deal with the Marcos family that wouldallow the latter to evade culpability over the humanrights violations committed under the fascistdictatorship. In exchange, the Marcos family promisedto withdraw all petitions contesting the release of the fundsheld in escrow by the Philippine National Bank. Onlythe stiff opposition by Bayan Muna prevented Akbayanfrom railroading the passage of the revised bill.

Second, Akbayan tried to catch public attentionin order to win votes in the 2004 elections by launchinga campaign to outlaw the collection of Permit toCampaign access fees; falsely and maliciously claimingthat its representative Etta Rosales is the target of anNPA hit squad; and echoing the accusations of CIAagent and National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzalesand the AFP that Bayan Muna and five otherprogressive party list groups are fronts of the CPP-NPA-NDF. The AFP was so pleased with Akbayan thatit actively campaigned for the latter to lure votes awayfrom Bayan Muna and other progressive party listgroups.

To quote Ka Roger, “Its (Akbayan’s) politicalattacks against both the revolutionary movement andprogressive parties smacks of Red baiting that is inperfect agreement and consonance with the madrantings of US intelligence agent and national securityadviser Norberto Gonzales and AFP psywardepartments. In fact Akbayan’s Joel Rocamora has beenissuing out statements with exactly the same lies andultra-reactionary diatribes spewed out by Gonzales andthe AFP against the CPP-NPA and the progressiveorganizations….Akbayan knows, however, that theirpolitical attacks against both the revolutionarymovement and progressive parties are grist for thefascist mills and stirs up the saliva of the vicious dogs-of-war who only need such cues to violently attack theprogressives if they cannot get hold ofrevolutionaries…”

Being in cahoots with the Marcos family, theruling Arroyo clique, the CIA, and the AFP, Akbayanis in the company of the most reactionary elements ofPhilippine society. Akbayan is described as anopportunist only because it is still able to project itselfas progressive by occasionally criticizing thegovernment and the policies of globalization. But intime it will expose itself for what it truly is, reactionaryto the core.

The cyclical carnival, a shield of goldWhirls on a tithing deluge of darkness

Grasping and gathering the starsInto a violent net of neon, shrieking

For reverence to the vendible ultimate.

The infinite shape, a playful palisadeOf signboards of decent deceiving

Is unlocked by a fee to the gainful gateThat swallows like a courteous cat –

The crownfront of bribeable bureaucratsKeeping the privateering spirit of general rules

In the big bidding for space and building.

On the capital surface of the crowded circleBright barkers interweave a fiery texture;

The blaring pattern conceals the hammering handsThat have built and bear it, Atlas-like.

The monopoly tents in anarchic arrayFeature the best feats of client-conscious beasts.

Politicians and professional specialistsDo the rightrope and somersault,

The role of horses, lions and elephants,Bear and chimpanzee.

The pedants make good clowns on the periphery,Beside their castrate charms.

The sideshadows offer freaks when funny,Taken funnily when serious

And a monkey conducting a recorded symphony.The sideshows offer faithful fakes like

The original snake of the forbidden treeAnd the boy with genitals overgrown.

The peepshows augur more than ogled,Charity ladies giggling with gigolos;The maze of mirrors sate solipsists;

The house of horrors offers free admittanceUnder the sponsorship of a softdrink company.

The scape and studied speech of ferriswheels,Flying saucers, swinging planes, roller coasters,

And trains – all congeal the terrible seasonOf the carnival cosmos of gawkers

And growing children that abandons the ground baldAfter coronation night of the moneyed muse.

Carnival

by Jose Ma. Sison

CULTURAL