CPP/NDF-EV: Respect the people's electoral struggle, stand up for genuine change

Posted to the CPP Website (Apr 25): Respect the people's electoral struggle, stand up for genuine change

Fr. Santiago Salas (Ka Sanny)
Spokesperson
NDFP Eastern Visayas Chapter

The National Democratic Front-Eastern Visayas calls on all to respect the people’s electoral struggle and stand up for genuine change. We do not expect meaningful changes through the elections, because it is an instrument of the ruling system and US imperialism to maintain the semifeudal and semi-colonial system in the Philippines. But we do respect that a significant number of the people still believe in the elections, thus we challenge that we all stand up for genuine change.

US imperialism itself introduced the bourgeois elections when it colonized the Philippines and up to now, to make it seem that there is a peaceful and honest way towards change and to calm the grievances of the people. In truth, through the automated elections in place since 2010 and backed by US imperialism, cheating has become simpler and faster while retaining the essentially vicious competition between political rivals till the shedding of blood.

Widespread cheating exposes the dirty character of the elections. In the local level, there are various forms of this such as the use of goons, vote-buying, bribing the Board of Election Inspectors (BEI) and using the military in political campaigns and on election day itself. In fact, in the provinces of Eastern Visayas, the 8th Infantry Division blatantly participates in electioneering where their troops campaign for politicians who are reactionary die-hards, while disparaging progressive candidates.

The voice of the people in their electoral struggle must be respected. Thus we forewarn the politicians and their machinery in the elections including those in the BEI who are in their pockets, that they will have accounts to settle with the people should there be incidents of widespread cheating, election violence such as harassments and killings, seizure of election machines and other forms of sabotage and irregularities in the elections.

In the experience of the masses in the past two elections in a Northern Samar town, there were many incidents where the BEI itself participated in cheating and sabotage. In the election precincts, voting was delayed, the use of election guarantors denied, and voters who supported the rival candidate were not even included in the list of voters.

 The BEI did not make the minutes of the electoral process, but when their candidate was defeated, they made minutes to present in the town falsely accusing the New People’s Army of disturbing the voting process even though there was no such incident. The municipal election officer was also bribed and it was made to appear that the losing candidate won the election. The corrupt personalities in the Commission on Elections and the BEI violated their own so-called role for clean and honest elections.

We call on the people to be vigilant and assert their rights against the possibilities of election violence, cheating and dirty tactics of the politicians in collaboration with the Comelec and the BEI. The reactionary politicians would like the people to be passive participants and to mechanically vote for those who are corrupt, fascist and pro-imperialist. Thus the right to suffrage must be struggled for along with other democratic rights. The people must insist who they would like to vote for, especially those who are for the country and for the people, in the midst of threats from the reactionary government. They must be prepared for militant struggle for their democratic rights in the electoral process. The revolutionary movement respects the electoral struggle of the people as a method of parliamentary struggle, but genuine change can only be achieved through revolutionary struggle. Therefore, we call on the people to take advantage of the electoral struggle to raise their political consciousness, towards higher levels of mass struggle up to directly participating in the revolution.#

http://www.philippinerevolution.net/statements/20130425_respect-the-people-s-electoral-struggle-stand-up-for-genuine-change