CPP/Ang Bayan: Revolutionary defense of the ancestral land

Propaganda article from the English edition of Ang Bayan posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines Website (Sep 21): Revolutionary defense of the ancestral land

The Revolutionary Organization of Lumads (ROL) vows greater unity in waging armed struggle in the face of the ruling state’s intensifying attacks against their ancestral lands. At the same time, the Lumads are united in advancing further their revolutionary tradition and culture in the face of repression. The ROL is an allied organization of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines.

Under the US-Duterte regime’s Oplan Kapayapaan counterinsurgency campaign and its Mindanao martial law, attacks against Lumad communities are relentless. Duterte gave his military and police free rein to flatten the hills and bomb Lumad schools, and denigrated the Lumads’ just struggle by claiming that the revolutionary movement is taking advantage of their situation. Killings and harassment of their leaders, as well as those suspected of being NPA supporters, persist. Militarization and bombings of their communities are also incessant.

Some Lumads, whom the AFP have incited and formed into paramilitary groups, take part in these brutalities. Some members of these groups, known as Alamara, Magahat, Bagani Force, Black Fighter, NIPAR and others, are also family relatives of those in the ROL whom the military employs to suppress their fellow Lumads. Under the “IP-centric approach” of Oplan Bayanihan and Oplan Kapayapaan, the military organizes armed Lumad groups in order to drive away their fellow Lumads who are defending the ancestral domain against the entry of logging and mining companies.

Faced with this situation, the ROL resolved to intensify armed struggle during the Conference of Resistance of revolutionary datus held last December 2016. The said conference also resolved to recognize the NPA as the only army fighting for the welfare of the Lumads; oppose the recruitment and proliferation of paramilitary groups; undertake all efforts to drive away the AFP from the ancestral domain; raise their militance and fight encroachment in their lands by foreigners and the local ruling classes; and broaden the unity among all tribes.

In line with these resolutions, the communities enhanced their defense systems. They resolved to utilize indigenous weapons such as traps and punji sticks around the communities, and shotguns which the Lumads usually use. These are augmented with modern weapons. Military trainings are conducted for squad or platoon-sized militias. In a municipality of the people’s democratic government, militia membership has reached up to one battalion.
The Lumads are likewise developing their sentry schedule to guard the communities as well as the communal farms most especially during harvest season. The resident’s alertness has been heigh­tened, and even the communities physical setup adapted to war conditions. A committee has been formed to regularly assess the security.

Revolutionary tradition
The Lumads have a valiant revolutionary tradition in fighting the arrogation of their ancestral domain. They have a rich history of struggle and defense of their inherited lands against the plunder by foreign corporations and bourgeois compradors. Using arrows and some firearms, they were able to drive out the foreign companies and the AFP. It was decided that the pangayaw (tribal war) traditionally launched against an enemy tribe, will be solely directed against the AFP.

The Lumads espouse armed struggle directed against the AFP. Their policy differs in confronting Lumad paramilitary groups. The ROL’s first measure is to draw them to the revolution through relations of their families and acquaintances who are ROL members. The ROL and NPA have already recovered several communities under the paramili­ta­ries through this method. Many former paramilitaries were revived to serve the revolution.

The development of communal farms is also a big help in winning back the support of those who were recruited into paramilitary groups. Each community allots parcels of land to produce supplementary taro, cassava, and sweet potato for the families. Some paramilitaries who were once coerced into stealing their harvest and destroying their crops have declared their wish to participate in the communal farms.

Likewise, they collectively strive to prevent the recruitment and membership of communities into paramilitaries. Neighboring communities organized under the ROL offer livestock to the said community, from chickens to horses, as peace offerings.

Another factor in winning back those who enlisted into paramilitaries are the NPA’s military actions. For example, a few days following a harassment operation by the NPA against an AFP detachment, a recruiter for the Alamara sent surrender feelers.

In consonance with developing Lumad households as communities waging war in defense of their ancestral lands, the ROL likewise continuously conscripts personnel to become regular Red fighters. In one guerrilla front, they consciously recruit new Red fighters from ROL membership. They understand that in strengthening the NPA, the communities’ primary force in the armed defense of their ancestral lands is likewise strengthened.

[Ang Bayan is the official newspaper of the Communist Party of the Philippines. Ang Bayan is published in Pilipino, Bisaya, Hiligaynon, Waray and English. Download Ang Bayan from the Philippine Revolution Web Central at www.philippinerevolution.info.  Ang Bayan is published fortnightly by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Philippines.]
https://www.philippinerevolution.info/ang_bayan/20170921-revolutionary-defense-of-the-ancestral-land/