PH needed in int’l anti-terror talks

From the Manila Bulletin (Nov 28): PH needed in int’l anti-terror talks

The Philippines and the rest of Southeast Asia should not be left out as the Middle East starts to find a “win-win solution” amid the growing threat of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), a top official here said.

Dr. Anwar Mohammed Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, emphasized the need to include Southeast Asia in the discussion and crafting of solutions to combat the threat of terrorism and extremism.

“This is extremely important. Fundamentally things that are happening in the Middle East have an impact on countries like Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, et cetera,” Gargash told the Manila Bulletin in an interview.

He then admitted that the inclusion of Southeast Asia in the Middle East discussion for solution against terrorism and extremism is yet to be explored.

“I don’t think we are exploring it in detail. I think this is one of the challenges,” he said.

So far, most of the interaction of the Middle East with Southeast Asia, according to him, is more on energy and labor-related.

“We need to also have an interaction that is political — political vis-à-vis terrorism and extremism because there are things that are happening here that are radicalizing influence also in your region,” said Gargash.

http://www.mb.com.ph/ph-needed-in-intl-anti-terror-talks/

MILF decommissioning fighters starting Jan., 2015

From the Manila Bulletin (Nov 29): MILF decommissioning fighters starting Jan., 2015

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has agreed to start the decommissioning of its estimated 11,000 fully armed combatants and weapons by January, 2015.

However, ammunitions are not covered by the decommissioning in accordance with the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB).

Mohagher Iqbal, chairman of the MILF peace panel in the peace process with the Government of the Philippines (GPH), revealed this yesterday. He said the decommissioning in January is a symbolic event to be held most probably in Maguindanao to demonstrate the MILF’s goodwill and commitment as embodied in the CAB. Iqbal said the ceremonial decommissioning covers 75 weapons, 25 of which are high-powered.

Another MILF leader, who declined to be named, said the symbolic turnover in January covers 75 weapons and over 100 combatants.

“We will be decommissioning 75 weapons and over 100 fighters because there are some arms that are crew-served,” the source said.

He explained that “crew-served” means there are weapons that cannot be handled by one person, such as a .50 caliber machine gun and small artillery weapons, indicating that these are included in the 20 to 25 high-powered arms out of the 75 to be decommissioned.

“Of course, decommissioning includes weapons and combatants,” he said, adding that the decommissioning involves four phases, with the last phase to be done after the planned Bangsamoro police force shall have been formed, functioning, and well-established.

But Iqbal said the symbolic turnover is not tied up with the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).

Iqbal, Secretary Teresita Q. Deles, and members of the international community were at the launch yesterday in Mandaluyong City of a 52-page primer on the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) to make easily understandable in a reader-friendly rendition done by the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC).

Deles explained that the decommissioning is not a surrender of the MILF’s arms, which will be kept in a place still being decided.

“There is no military victory here. Therefore, it is an agreement, a settlement, a mutually negotiated agreement, and agreed upon settlement. Therefore, it is in partnership with each other,” she said.

Deles cited the importance of a third party in the decommissioning through the International Decommissioning Body (IDB), to validate, for example, how many weapons and combatants were decommissioned.

“We want a third party, a strong third party. When they say that so many weapons were turned over, they will not have any other agenda except to ensure the decommissioning process is happening as agreed upon, putting the weapons to use,” she said.

It was recalled that the GPH and MILF signed the CAB last March 27, which serves as their final peace agreement after 17 long years of on-and-off and often intractable negotiations marked by an all-out war and all-out offensive launched by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in 2001 and 2003 and many more bloody, bodies-strewn stretches of internecine conflict – brother Filipinos against brother Filipinos.
The CAB contains the Annexes on Transitional Mechanisms and Modalities; Wealth-sharing, and Revenue-generation; Power-sharing; and Normalization.

Normalization contains the MILF’s decommissioning of its estimated 11,000 fully-armed combatants.

http://www.mb.com.ph/milf-decommissioning-fighters-starting-jan-2015/

CPP/NPA: Video -- Ka Yeng

NPA propaganda video posted to the CPP Website (Nov 28): Video -- Ka Yeng



[Video: Ka Yeng
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlivTL4nHEg&list=UUIdJcoTlC5Q5jrKCOh4dJeA]

A young lass from Eastern Visayas who willfully joined the New People's Army.
She's 18 years old, and she and her family were victims of Typhoon Yolanda and the criminal incompetence of the US-Aquino regime.

She is one of the mass activists from Kabataang Makabayan who joined the New People's Army and work full-time in order to serve the Filipino people in a revolutionary way.

http://www.philippinerevolution.net/

CPP/Sison: Video -- Ang Makasaysayang Papel at mga Kontribusyon ng Kabataang Makabayan

Propaganda video posted to the CPP Website (Nov 26): Video -- Ang Makasaysayang Papel at mga Kontribusyon ng Kabataang Makabayan




[Video: Ang Makasaysayang Papel at mga Kontribusyon ng Kabataang Makabayan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucC_ePUkwgo]

Sanaysay ng pagdiriwang sa ika-50 Anibersaryo ng Pagtatatag ng KM
http://www.philippinerevolution.net/

CPP: Long live the Kabataang Makabayan on its 50th anniversary!

Propaganda statement posted to the CPP Website (Nov 30): Long live the Kabataang Makabayan on its 50th anniversary!

Communist Party of the Philippines

 

The central leadership and entire membership of the Communist Party of the Philippines as well as all Red commanders and fighters of the New People’s Army join the Filipino people and all their revolutionary forces in extending the most ardent revolutionary greetings to the Kabataang Makabayan on the occasion of its 50th anniversary.

The CPP pays tribute to all the revolutionary martyrs and heroes from among the ranks of the KM and the revolutionary mass movement of youth and students. They inspire the current generation of youth to rise up and serve the people’s democratic revolution.

KM’s 50th year is an important milestone in the history of the Filipino people’s revolutionary struggles. It is a testimony to the perseverance of the Filipino youth and people in waging revolutionary struggle to put an end to the oppressive and exploitative semicolonial and semifeudal system.

KM is celebrating its 50th year, yet it remains young and vibrant, having thousands of young students and youth in its ranks raising its red banner and promoting the people’s democratic revolution under proletarian leadership. KM and, through it, the CPP, continue to strike deep roots among the students and youth.

Basic Role of the KM

In his essay celebrating KM’s 50th anniversary, Prof. Jose Ma. Sison, KM founding chair, describes their effort during the 1960s in laying the foundations for the reestablishment of the CPP and building the NPA. Indeed, every KM member and proletarian cadre in the youth and student movement must carefully study Ka Joema’s essay in order to gain a comprehensive grasp of KM’s history and past contributions and define clearly the tasks ahead.

As communist juniors among the students and youth, the basic role of the Kabataang Makabayan is to assist the revolutionary party of the proletariat in carrying out its work in leading the people’s democratic revolution. Such role is basically unchanged since its foundation. The KM reaches out to the broadest ranks of the students and youth, raises their patriotic, pro-people and scientific consciousness, trains them as propagandists, teachers and organizers and prepares them for deployment in the various fields of revolutionary work.

KM reaches out to the broadest ranks of the students and youth by addressing their day to day concerns such as incessant increases of tuition and other school fees and the reactionary state’s policy of commercialization and social spending cutbacks. The KM also addresses issues such as overly restrictive school policies and the suppression of civil, political and human rights in campuses. It promotes the youth’s demand for a nationalist, scientific and mass-orientated education.

KM raises the patriotic consciousness of the students and youth by exposing how the Philippine educational system is oriented to serve foreign big business interests, particularly by churning out skilled and semi-skilled labor and producing research work that justifies IMF-WB policy impositions. KM exposes as well the various laws, policies and agreements which perpetuate US economic, political and military dominance and semicolonial rule. KM deepens the revolutionary commitment of the students and youth by linking with the toiling masses and supporting their democratic struggles.

KM exposes and fights the dominant reactionary, reformist, petty-bourgeois and pseudo-progressive mode of thinking that counters the development of a patriotic, scientific and pro-people culture and consciousness. It conducts more thorough studies of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism among its advanced cadres in order to train them in the scientific method of thinking and urge them to go through the process of remoulding through criticism and self-criticism.

Taking stock of the objective and subjective situation

It is the task of the KM and youth and student Party cadres to take stock of the objective conditions and the subjective strength of the revolutionary forces in order to define a program of action that serves the overall program of the Party.

The overall socio-economic conditions, as well as the particular conditions confronting the students and youth continue to be exceedingly favorable for arousing, organizing and mobilizing large numbers of students and youth in a mass movement that advances the cause of national and social liberation.

The mass movement of students and youth is always fertile ground for training and recruiting activists and proletarian revolutionary cadres. The more widespread the mass movement, the bigger the number of potential cadres who can join the CPP, become Red fighters and commanders of the New People’s Army, serve as cadres in the mass movement of peasants, workers and other democratic sectors and other areas of work.

The chronically worsening socio-economic conditions permit the mass movement of students and youth (as well as the people’s mass movement in general) to constantly progress from one level of strength to the next. It permits the KM to constantly accumulate quantitative strength; and periodically achieve qualitative growth. Even taking into consideration such factors as enemy suppression or one or several errors in planning which may cause fluctuations in strength, the prevailing conditions permit the mass movement to advance in an overall upward trajectory.

The CPP is currently leading the protracted people’s war from the current stage to a qualitatively higher stage. The projected transition to a higher level is based on having accumulated the critical mass necessary to leap forward to a qualitatively new phase in the development of the people’s war. The worsening crisis of the ruling semicolonial and semifeudal system and the prolonged global capitalist recession favor the continued growth of the revolutionary forces.

The CPP estimates that it in a period of one or two five-year programs, it can double or triple its current membership to more than 250,000 and raise NPA firepower and the number of NPA Red fighters to 25,000. It can also increase exponentially the mass base, the number of organs of political power and their level and reach and the achievements in land reform and socio-economic planning in the guerrilla base areas.

KM must set its sights on assisting the Party and the Filipino people advance the people’s war to the stage of strategic stalemate. The leadership and cadres of the KM must take stock of its current strength and project what quantitative and qualitative growth in strength it can achieve over a certain period. KM’s periodic programs of action must be geared squarely towards this objective.

From its current strength, KM can achieve qualitative growth in a few years’ time in terms of its membership, the number of schools organized and organizations influenced or allied. Viewed strategically, the KM can aim to achieve an unprecedented number of annual CPP and NPA recruits, sustain this for several years and surpass this again in another few years time.

Expectations from KM after 50 years

The CPP and all revolutionary forces expect the Kabataang Makabayan to exert all-out effort to achieve big advances in the coming years.

The chronic crisis of the ruling system continues to worsen and victimize the students and youth. The prevailing system of backward agrarian production and export-oriented and import-dependent manufacturing has remained basically unchanged for over seven decades. It is starkly clear that this system deprives the students and youth and the oppressed and exploited masses of a progressive and modern future.

Amid the prolonged crisis of the global capitalist system, the crisis of the ruling system is set to worsen further as foreign monopoly capitalists seek to intensify the plunder of Philippine mineral resources, take control and establish large plantations and exploit cheap labor. The US military is determined to increase its presence to protect US economic interests in the Philippines and in the region.

To perpetuate the current system amid intensified crisis, the ruling classes of big bourgeois compradors and big landlords collaborate with the US imperialists to carry out a political and ideological offensive with the aim of drawing away the people’s attention from their basic problems and destroy their unity. They bombard the youth and people with pro-imperialist propaganda employing the instruments of big media and the internet.

The KM and the mass movement of students and youth are expected to be at the forefront of a political, ideological and cultural resistance to counter the imperialist bombardment in the universities, in the commercial big media, in social media and other cultural and propaganda agencies. They must advance a national democratic propaganda offensive to counter the ideas of neoliberal theories and various anti-Marxist philosophical trends posing as “postmodern” but which are actually a throwback to the idealist and metaphysical philosophies of old.

In order to counter the political and ideological offensives of the imperialists and their local cohorts, the KM must assiduously conduct studies and research on theory, history and concrete conditions. Parallel to their study courses, KM members are expected to conduct social investigations to know firsthand the conditions of their fellow youth and students, of workers in factories and their communities and peasants and minority peoples in rural communities.

KM members are expected to emulate their founding members who untiringly studied the writings of communist thinkers and carefully applied the universal theories of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism to concrete conditions. Like their predecessors, KM cadres of today must exert great effort in studying basic and advanced communist writings, as well as key documents and publications of the CPP and other revolutionary organizations.

Owing to the physical proximity of schools to factories and communities and with the majority of KM members coming from the middle to lower petty-bourgeoisie and working class, members of KM are expected to assist the workers’ movement in a big way. Such an expectation becomes doubly significant in the face of the need to wage an epic class struggle to reverse the policies of flexible labor that have attacked the right to a minimum wage, to job security, to an eight-hour work day and other such basic workers rights won through hard struggle over the past century.

The KM and the mass movement of students and youth are expected to link up with the peasant movement and mobilize the youth to carry out rural service and help in implementing the revolutionary land reform program in the guerrilla zones.

As the people’s war advances to the stage of the strategic stalemate, the New People’s Army expects yearly hundreds and eventually thousands of KM members and young cadres and mass activists to become Red fighters and join the people’s war. The KM must conduct propaganda in schools, communities and factories calling on the youth to join the NPA. The KM can coordinate with the NPA to conduct summer training camps for potential recruits from among the KM members.

The Kabataang Makabayan continues to be one of the critical forces of the Philippine revolution. Having been at the very inception of the resumption of the national democratic revolution, KM is determined to see the Filipino people’s revolutionary struggle through to the basic completion of the new democratic struggle with the overthrow of the puppet state to be succeeded immediately thereafter by socialist revolution and construction.

http://www.philippinerevolution.net/statements/20141130_long-live-the-kabataang-makabayan-on-its-50th-anniversary

CPP/NDF/Sison: Ang makasaysayang papel at mga kontribusyon ng Kabataang Makabayan

NDF propaganda statement posted to the CPP Website (Nov 30): Ang makasaysayang papel at mga kontribusyon ng Kabataang Makabayan
 

Prof. Jose Maria Sison
Founding Chairman
Kabataang Makabayan

 

Dahil ako ang naging tagapangulong tagapagtatag ng Kabataang Makabayan (KM) noong 1964 at namuno rito hanggang maobliga akong kumilos nang lihim noong 1968, lubos kong ikinatutuwa at ikinararangal na makalahok sa pagdiriwang ng ika-50 anibersaryo ng KM. Binibigyang-kahulugan at sinasaklaw ng pagdiriwang na ito ang lahat ng pakikibaka, sakripisyo at tagumpay ng kasapian ng KM sa paglilingkod sa kabataang Plipino at buong sambayanang Pilipino.

Pagpapatuloy ng Rebolusyonaryong Tradisyon ng Sambayanang Pilipino

Ninais naming ipundar ang KM sa rebolusyonaryong tradisyon ng sambayanang Pilipino. Kaya sadya naming itinatag ang KM noong ika-101 kaarawan ni Andres Bonifacio noong Nobyembre 30, 1964. Ninais namin siyang parangalan sa pag-oorganisa niya sa Katipunan at pamumuno sa pagpoproklama ng pambansang kalayaan ng sambayanang Pilipino laban sa kolonyalismong Espanyol.

Humalaw kami ng inspirasyon sa kanya bilang rebolusyonaryong ama ng bansang Pilipino at buo ang loob naming sumunod sa rebolusyonaryong tradisyon ng Katipunan at ituloy ang di tapos na rebolusyong Pilipino sa pamamagitan ng pagkukumpleto ng pakikibaka para sa pambansang kalayaan at demokrasya laban sa dayuhan at pyudal na dominasyon. Alam na alam namin na inuntol ng imperyalismong US ang rebolusyong Pilipino nang magpakawala ito ng gerang agresyon laban sa sambayanang Pilipino, gawin nitong kolonya ang Pilipinas matapos patayin ang daan-daan libong Pilipino at sanayin ang mga papet nito para sa malakolonyal na paghahari.

Batid naming pumasok na ang Pilipinas sa panahon ng modernong imperyalismo at proletaryong rebolusyon. Naging makabuluhang pwersa na sa lipunang Pilipino ang uring manggagawa bilang pinakaproduktibo at pinakaprogresibong pwersa. Lumitaw na ang Partido Komunista bilang abanteng destakamento ng uring manggagawa para pamunuan ang pakikibaka ng sambayanan laban sa dayuhan at pyudal na dominasyon. Magiting nitong nilabanan ang pasistang okupasyon ng Japan at ang sumunod na panibagong pagsaklot ng imperyalismong US sa Pilipinas.

Mulat na mulat noon ang mga tagapagtatag ng KM sa lohikal na ugnayan ng lumang demokratikong rebolusyon na pinamunuan ng burgesya liberal laban sa lumang estilong kolonyalismo at pyudalismong Espanyol at ng bagong demokratikong rebolusyong pinamumunuan ng uring manggagawa laban sa imperyalismong US, pyudalismo at burukrata kapitalismo sa malakolonyal at malapyudal na kalagayan ng Pilipinas sa panahon ng modernong imperyalismo at proletaryong rebolusyon. Mula sa simula’y minithi naming isulong ang demokratikong rebolusyon ng bayan upang mailatag ang daan para sa kasunod na rebolusyong sosyalista.

Ang Patriyotiko at Progresibong Papel at Mga Tungkulin ng KM

Tumayo ang Kabataang Makabayan bilang patriyotiko at progresibong taliba ng kabataang Pilipino. Nilayon nitong maging komprehensibong organisasyon ng mga kabataan mula sa masang anakpawis na mga manggagawa at magsasaka at mula sa mga panggitnang saray. Inialay nito ang sarili bilang taguyod ng uring manggagawa na siyang namumunong uri sa bagong demokratikong rebolusyon. Nilayon nitong maging sentro ng pagsasanay ng mga aktibista ng ligal na demokratikong kilusan at ng mga magiging kadre ng rebolusyon.

Ang Kongreso ng pagtatatag ng KM ay bumuo ng Konstitusyon at Programa ng Pagkilos alinsunod sa pangkalahatang linya ng pakikibakang bayan para sa pambansa at panlipunang paglaya. Iginiit ng KM ang ganap na pambansang kalayaan, demokratikong mga karapatan at pagbibigay-kapangyarihan sa uring manggagawa, tunay na reporma sa lupa at pambansang industriyalisasyon, katarungang panlipunan, kulturang pambansa, syentipiko at pangmasa at nagsasariling patakarang panlabas para sa pagkakaisa ng lahat ng mamamayan at bansa, kapayapaan at kaunlaran laban sa imperyalismo at reaksyon.

Kabilang sa mga tagapagtatag ng KM ang mga proletaryong rebolusyonaryo at kalahok sa mga aksyong masa mula 1959. Nagmula sila sa kilusang estudyante, sa kilusang unyon, sa kilusang magsasaka at mga sirkulong intelektwal. Mayroon silang pag-unawa sa bagong demokratikong rebolusyon bunga ng naunang mga pag-aaral sa kasaysayan at mga sirkunstansya ng sambayanang Pilipino at sa teorya at praktika ng Marxismo-Leninismo. Nagkakaisa sila na ang tagumpay ng bagong demokratikong rebolusyon ay maglalatag ng daan para sa mas mabuti at maaliwalas pang kinabukasan para sa sambayanang Pilipino sa pamamagitan ng sosyalismo.

Pagsusulong sa Kilusang Masa at Paghuhubog ng mga Proletaryong Rebolusyonaryo

Isinulong ng KM ang pambansa-demokratikong kilusang masa noong dekada 1960. Pinukaw, inorganisa at pinakilos nito ang mga estudyante sa hayskul at kolehiyo, ang mga kabataang guro at iba pang propesyunal, ang mga kabataan sa Lapiang Manggagawa at mga unyon; at ang kabataan sa mga samahang magsasaka. Nag-organisa kami ng mga balangay sa mga paaralan, pabrika, mga pamayanan ng maralitang lunsod at mga komunidad ng mga magsasaka.

Nagdaos kami ng mga pag-aaral hinggil sa pangkalahatang linya ng bagong demokratikong rebolusyon at sa napapanahong mga isyu. Ang pinakainteresado at abanteng aktibista ay isinama namin sa mga pag-aaral sa teorya at praktika ng Marxismo-Leninismo. Determinado kaming isulong ang kilusang masa sa pamamagitan ng pagpupukaw, pag-oorganisa at pagpapakilos sa mga kabataan alinsunod sa pambansa-demokratikong linya ng pakikibaka. Kaalinsabay nito, determinado rin kaming humubog ng mga proletaryong rebolusyonaryo mula sa hanay ng mga aktibistang masa. Alinsunod ito sa papel ng KM bilang taguyod ng uring manggagawa at ng rebolusyonaryong partido nito.

Naglabas kami ng mga pahayag at naglunsad ng mga dramatikong aksyong protesta ng masa hinggil sa mga pangyayari at isyung may kinalaman sa pambansang soberanya, karapatang demokratiko at kundisyong panlipunan ng sambayanang Pilipino at ng kabataan. Hinarap namin ang imperyalismong US at ang naghaharing sistema ng malalaking kumprador at panginoong maylupa sa mga isyung lokal. At nakipagkaisa rin kami sa aping mamamayan ng Asia, Africa at Latin America at mamamayan sa mga imperyalistang bansa.

Ang KM ang naging pinakakilalang organisasyon na bumabatikos at nananawagan sa pagbabasura sa mga di pantay na kasunduan sa US gaya ng US-RP Military Assistance Agreement, Military Bases Agreement, Mutual Defense Pact, Quirino-Foster Agreement at Laurel-Langley Agreement. Siningil namin ang papet na gubyerno sa pagiging sunud-sunuran nito sa imperyalismong US at pagkakanulo sa karapatang soberano at interes ng sambayanang Pilipino.

Inilantad namin at tinutulan ang katangiang kumprador-asendero ng reaksyunaryong gubyerno. Ipinanawagan namin ang pagpapabuti sa sahod at kalagayan ng mga manggagawa, tunay na reporma sa lupa para makinabang ang mga walang lupang magsasaka at magkaroon ng pambansang industriyalisasyon, pagpapalawak ng sistema ng edukasyong publiko sa lahat ng antas, at mas mahusay na kalagayan sa pag-aaral at pamumuhay ng mga estudyante. Binatikos namin ang tuluy-tuloy na paglala ng disempleyo, ang pagbagsak ng sahod, ang sobrang taas ng presyo ng karaniwang mga bilihin at serbisyo at ang kakulangan o kawalan ng mga kinakailangang serbisyong panlipunan.

Puspusan naming kinundena ang US at mga alyadong imperyalista sa panghihimasok at agresyong militar at sinuportahan ang pakikibaka ng mga mamamayang biktima nila. Nilabanan namin ang proyektong Malaysia ng US at UK, ang idinirihe ng US na masaker ng mamamayang Indonesian, ang todo-largang gerang agresyon ng US laban sa mamamayang Byetnames at Indotsino at ang panghihimasok at agresyon ng US laban sa mamamayang Kubano, Koreano at iba pang mamamayan sa Asya, Aprica at Amerika Latina.

Pagtatatag ng mga Alyansa sa Ibang Pwersang Patriyotiko at Progresibo

Upang makapagpalawak ang KM sa partikular na mga lugar, rehiyon o buong bansa, laging nakasalalay ang KM sa sarili nitong lakas at dinadagdagan ito ng mga alyansa sa tukoy na mga uri at sektor at sa batayang multisektoral. Nakakapagrekluta ito ng mga manggagawa at nakabubuo ng mga sangay sa kanilang hanay sa mahigpit na pakikipagkapatiran sa mga pederasyon sa paggawa. Ang mga samahang magsasaka ang nagsasaayos ng mga programang imersyon sa kanayunan ng KM. Nakipag-alyansa ang KM sa mga organisasyon sa kampus at pambansang mga samahan ng mga estudyante at sa mga guro at iba pang propesyunal.

Bago pa man itayo ang KM, ang ilan sa nagtatag nito’y nakapagsimula nang kumilos sa kilusang unyon at sa Lapiang Manggagawa noong 1962. Lumahok sila sa pananaliksik at edukasyon, pag-oorganisa ng mga unyon at pagsuporta sa mga welga. Kaya naging malapit sila sa mga manggagawa at nakapagrekluta mula sa kanila ng mga kasaping magtatatag ng KM. Sa dami ng mahuhusay nilang nagawa, ang naging tagapangulong tagapagtatag ng KM ay naging pangalawang tagapangulo ng Lapiang Manggagawa at pangkalahatang kalihim ng Partido Sosyalista.

Ang mga nagtatag ng KM ay nagsimula ring umugnay nang mahigpit sa mga kadreng magsasaka at kabataang magsasaka sa Central Luzon at Southern Tagalog noong 1963. Ang naging tagapangulo ng KM ay nagturo sa mga beteranong kadreng magsasaka at kanilang mga anak ng mga kurso para marepaso nila ang kanilang mga rebolusyonaryong pag-aaral. Dahil sa kanyang malapit na relasyon sa mga magsasaka, nakapagrekluta mula sa mga kabataang magsasaka ng mga kasaping tagapagtatag ng KM pagsapit ng 1964.

Noong 1966, ang tagapangulo ng KM ay naging pangkalahatang kalihim ng anti-imperyalistang nagkakaisang prenteng organisasyon, ang Movement for the Advancement of Nationalism, sa batayan ng lakas ng Kabataang Makabayan at ng malapit na relasyon nito sa mga kilusang manggagawa at magsasaka at sa kilusang estudyante at progresibong mga sirkulo ng mga intelektwal. Ilang malalaking anti-imperyalistang aksyong masa ang inilunsad sa pangunguna ng MAN.

Pagharap sa Tumitinding Pang-aapi at Pagsasamantala

Taun-taon ay lumala ang pamalagiang krisis ng malakolonyal at malapyudal na naghaharing sistema sa ilalim ng rehimeng Marcos. Ang malawak na masa ng sambayanan ay nagdurusa sa pagtindi ng pang-aapi at pagsasamantala. Laganap ang disempleyo at pumapaimbulog ang presyo ng saligang mga bilihin at serbisyo. Labis ang pasanin ng mga magsasaka sa pang-aagaw ng kanilang lupa at lumalaking upa sa lupa. Pasan ng mga kabataang estudyante ang lumalaking gastos sa pag-aaral at pamumuhay.

Lalong naging marahas ang reaksyon ng rehimeng Marcos sa mga protestang masa hinggil sa mga usaping lokal. Nang hingin ng US ang pagsangkot ng Pilipinas sa gerang agresyon ng US sa Vietnam, agad pumayag si Marcos at pinakawalan ang militar at pulisya laban sa mga kabataang pinamunuan ng KM na nagprotesta sa Manila Summit noong 1966 kung saan nakipagpulong si Presidente Lyndon Johnson ng US sa mga lider ng mga bansang katuwang at papet nito sa rehiyong Asia-Pacific. Bilang tugon, pinaigting ng KM ang pagpapakat ng mga aktibistang lunsod sa gawaing masa sa kanayunan upang maghanda sa digmang bayan.

Kumalat sa buong bansa ang KM. Nagrekluta ito ng mga lider-estudyante mula sa mga pambansang organisasyon ng mga mag-aaral at mula sa pagdaluyong ng mga aklasang estudyante. Nagkaroon ito ng mga kasapi at balangay sa lahat ng rehiyon at sa karamihan ng mga prubinsya, kabilang ang mga lugar ng Moro sa Mindanao at sa mga prubinsyang BIBAK ng Cordillera. Nagbigay ito ng espesyal na atensyon sa mga pambansang minorya dahil nananatili silang pinakapinagsasamantalahan at pinakaapi at dahil nilabanan nila ang paghaharing dayuhan. Nagbigay ito ng edukasyong pampulitika at pagsasanay sa malao’y magiging lider ng rebolusyonaryong kilusan sa hanay ng mamamayang Moro at Igorot.

Pampulitikang Edukasyon, Propaganda at Gawaing Pangkultura

Sa pag-oorganisa ng mga balangay nito, laging may grupong OD-ED ang KM. Tinitiyak ng kadre sa OD na naisasagawa ang mga pulong pang-organisasyon nang koordinado sa mga dapat organisashin at ang tsapter ay itinatatag sa paghahalal ng mga upisyal. Tinitiyak ng kadre sa ED na mayroong sapat na pag-unawa ang mga rekluta sa pangkalahatang linya ng bagong demokratikong rebolusyon, sa mga pinakamahalagang punto sa Konstitusyon ng KM at sa Programa sa Pagkilos at sa maiinit na isyu.

Para sa pampulitikang edukasyon, ang handbook ng KM ng mga saligang dokumento ang nagsilbing batayang instrumento sa pagrerekluta ng mga kasapi at pagbubuo ng mga tsapter. Sinuhayan ito sa pagkakalimbag ng libro ng Tagapangulo ng KM na Struggle for National Democracy (Makibaka para sa Pambansang Demokrasya) noong 1967. Ibayo pa itong sinuporthan ng Philippine Society and Revolution (Lipunan at Rebolusyong Pilipino) ni Amado Guerrero noong 1969. Ang bawat aklat ay masugid na binasa at pinag-aralan ng kasapian ng KM.

Sa tuwing naitatag ang KM sa syudad, prubinsya at rehiyon at nabubuo ang mga namumunong sentral na organo nito, maingat na tinitiyak ng KM na mayroong kwerpo ng mga kadre sa KM na nakapag-aral ng saligang mga prinsipyo ng Marxismo-Leninismo.

Kapag naglulunsad ng mga aksyong masa, nagsasagawa ng mga paghahandang pulong at rali sa mga lokalidad. Binabalangkas ang mga manipesto at ipinamamahagi. Nagsasagawa ng mga brodkas na pang-ahitasyon sa mga lansangan. Inihahanda ang mga ispiker na mahusay sa ahitasyon. Sinasanay ng Kagawaran sa Edukasyon at Propaganda ng KM ang mga manunulat at ispiker para sa gayong layunin.

Para maging mas interesante at kaakit-akit ang mga aksyong masa, nagtatanghal ng mga pangkulturang bilang sa mga lansangan at sa mga itinatayong entablado. Sa gayong layunin, hinikayat ng Kawanihan sa Kultura ng KM ang pag-oorganisa ng mga grupong pangkultura at ang pagpapalitaw ng mga tagapagtanghal sa iba’t ibang anyo ng sining.

Ang mga Proletaryong Rebolusyonaryo Kontra sa mga Rebisyonistang Lava

Signipikanteng bilang ng mga abanteng aktibista ng KM ang umanib sa lumang
pinagsanib na Partido Komunista at Sosyalista gaya ng tagapangulo ng KM na naunang umanib dito noong 1962. Binubuo nila ang pinakamalaki at pinakamulat na bahagi ng partido. Pinag-aralan nila ang teorya at praktika ng Marxismo-Leninismo-Kaisipang Mao Zedong, pinuna at itinakwil ang modernong rebisyunismong nakasentro sa Soviet Union, sinuportahan ang Dakilang Proletaryong Rebolusyong Pangkultura sa China at itinaguyod sa Pilipinas ang pangkalahatang linya ng demokratikong rebolusyong bayan sa pamamagitan ng matagalang digmang bayan.

Nakuha ng mga nakababatang proletaryong rebolusyonaryo na nagtatag ng KM ang kanilang rebolusyonaryong edukasyon sa kasaysayan ng Pilipinas at mga tampok na isyu sa tanglaw ng Marxismo-Leninismo mula pa noong 1959, na independyente sa lumang pinagsanib na partido. Naglaho na kung tutuusin ang partidong ito mula pa 1957 nang ihayag ng pangkalahatang kalihim nito ang likidasyunistang patakarang “single file.” Binigyan lamang niya ng pahapyaw na pansin ang lumalakas na kilusang kabataan nang maganap ang raling anti-CAFA noong 1961 at hindi man lamang nag-alok ng anumang paggabay.

Nang ang awtoridad ng komiteng tagapagpaganap at kalihiman ng lumang partido ay agawin noong 1966 ng isa sa mga anak ng mga Lava na hiwalay sa kilusang masa at pultaym na empleyado ng reaksyunaryong gubyerno, nagkaisa ang mga proletaryong rebolusyonaryo sa loob ng KM at ang mga nakatatandang kadre sa kilusang paggawa at kilusang magsasaka, na ilunsad ang Kilusang Pagwawasto noong 1966 at buuin ang Probisyunal na Kawanihang Pampulitika noong 1967. Pinuna at itinakwil nila ang mahabang kasaysayan ng oportunismong Lava at naghanda para sa muling pagtatatag ng Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas noong 1968.

Ibayong Pagbangon ng Kilusang Masa

Ang muling pagtatatag ng Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas noong Disyembre 26, 1968 at ang pagtatatag ng Bagong Hukbong Bayan ay isinapubliko. Nagsilbing inspirasyon ito sa kilusang masa sa pambansang punong lunsod at sa pambansang saklaw noong 1969. Lumaganap ang mga welga ng mga manggagawa laban sa mga mapang-api at mapagsamantalang may-ari ng mga pagawaan. Patuloy ding lumaganap na parang apoy ang mga protestang rali ng mga estudyante laban sa rehimeng Marcos at ang mga welga ng mga estudyante kontra sa mga ultra-reaksyunaryong awtoridad ng mga eskwelahan. May malaking grupo ng mga magsasaka mula sa Central Luzon na humugos sa Maynila para igiit ang reporma sa lupa noong 1969.

Pumutok ang Sigwa ng Unang Kwarto ng 1970 at pinag-alab ng mararahas na pagwasak sa mga protestang rali at martsa. Nagtipon sa iba’t ibang panig ng Metro Manila ang mga kabataan, mga manggagawa at ang taumbayan sa pangkalahatan. Ang papalawak na hanay ng mga nagmamartsa ay nagsanib sa sentro ng Maynila at nagrali sa Kongreso, sa palasyo ng presidente at sa embahada ng US. Nasa 50,000-100,000 ang lumahok sa mga lingguhang aksyong masa. Isinigaw nila ang “Makibaka, huwag matakot! Digmang bayan ang sagot sa batas militar!”

Lumitaw ang Diliman Commune sa University of the Philippines noong maagang bahagi ng 1971. Mitsa nito ang pagtaas ng presyo ng langis na sanhi ng mas mataas na gastos sa pag-aaral at pamumuhay. Iniutos ng rehimeng Marcos na pasukin ng mga pulis at militar ang kampus. Subalit lumaban ang mga estudyante at mga guro sa pamamagitan ng pagbabarikada at pag-okupa sa mga gusali at paligid ng pamantasan. Naganap ang mga protestang aksyong masa ng mga kabataan, manggagawa at mga magsasaka sa pambansang saklaw sa halos kalakhan ng taon.

Paghahanda at Pagpapatupad ni Marcos sa Pasistang Diktadura

Matapos magwagi sa eleksyong presidensyal noong 1969 sa pamamagitan ng pandaraya at terorismo at maluhong paglustay ng pondong publiko, nagpakita si Marcos ng palatandaang nagpaplano siyang magtagal nang walang taning sa poder. Nagsasatsat siya ng linya na ang Pilipinas ay panlipunang bulkan at nangangailangan na ng di-karaniwang mga hakbangin. Nagpakana siya at hinikayat niya rin ang kanyang mga pampulitikang alipures at mga kleriko-pasista na manawagan ng malaking pagbabago sa konstitusyon ng Pilipinas ng 1935 para matanggal niya ang maksimum na limit na dalawang apat-na-taong termino ng presidente at makamit ang kanyang ambisyong maging pasistang diktador.

Siya ang utak sa pagpapasabog ng granada sa miting de abanse ng oposisyong Partido Liberal sa Plaza Miranda noong 1971. Ilang oras lamang matapos ang insidente, isinisi niya ito sa Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas at sa kanyang pangunahing karibal sa pulitika na si Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr. at sinuspinde ang writ of habeas corpus. Nag-utos siya ng mga reyd sa mga upisina ng Kabataang Makabayan sa buong bansa at iba pang pambansa-demokratikong organisasyong masa at pag-aresto sa kanilang mga lider. Ang suspensyon ng writ of habeas corpus ang ensayo para sa pasistang deklarasyon ng batas militar noong 1972.

Bunga ng suspensyon ng writ of habeas corpus at ng mga reyd at pag-arestong nakatutok sa pambansa-demokratikong kilusan, pinabilis ng KM ang pagtatalaga sa pinakalantad at mga “wanted” na lider nito sa kilusang lihim sa kalunsuran at sa mga sonang gerilya. Pinanatili nitong bukas ang Bonifacio Center at ang iba pa nitong upisina sa kalunsuran subalit nilimitahan ang pagpapakita ng mga upisyal ng KM na nasa listahan ng mga “wanted” ng militar o yaong mga pinakabulnerableng maaresto. Dahil sa mga protestang masang pinangunahan ng Movement of Concerned Citizens for Civil Liberties, nagkunwari si Marcos na tanggalin ang suspensyon ng writ of habeas corpus. Gayunpaman, naghanda ang KM sa inaasahang proklamasyon ng batas militar, na pormal na ginawa ni Marcos noong Setyembre 21, 1972.

Bago pa man ang 1972, nagdeploy na ang KM ng mga kasapi ng Partido na nasa KM at mga sulong na masang aktibitsa para umanib sa Bagong Hukbong Bayan o sa gawaing masa sa kanayunan upang ihanda ang mga lokal na erya para sa pagpapaunlad ng mga sonang gerilya. Subalit matapos ang deklarasyon ng batas militar, di hamak na mas malaking bilang ng mga kasapi ng KM ang umanib sa hukbong bayan at naggawaing masa sa kanayunan. Nang matulak na kumilos nang lihim, pumailalim ang KM sa pangangasiwa ng Komisyon sa Paghahanda ng National Democratic Front. Naging mahalagang bahagi ito ng proseso sa pagbubuo ng National Democratic Front na nag-umpisa sa pagpapalaganap ng 10-Puntong Gabay ng NDF noong Abril 24, 1973.

Mga Ambag ng KM sa Digmang Bayan at sa Nagkakaisang Prente

Utang na loob ng Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas sa KM ang pag-abot nito ng pambansang saklaw at malalim na pag-ugat sa masa. Sa 14-na-taong itinakbo ng pasistang diktadurang Marcos, naging mga kadre at kasapi ng Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas ang mga upisyal at myembro ng KM. Nagkaroon sila ng mga responsableng pusisyon sa mga namumuno at organong istap ng PKP. Sila’y naging mga kumander at upisyal sa pulitika ng Bagong Hukbong Bayan. Inorganisa nila ang iba’t ibang anyo ng rebolusyonaryong kilusang masa para sa mga manggagawa, magsasaka, kabataan, kababaihan, guro, manggagawang pangkalusugan, mga aktibistang pangkultura at iba pa.Lumahok sila sa pagbubuo at pagpapagana ng mga organo ng kapangyarihang pampulitika.

Ang mga upisyal at myembro ng KM ay nagmula sa masang anakpawis ng mga manggagawa at magsasaka, mga panggitnang saray ng lipunan at iba’t ibang sektor. Nasa pusisyon silang tumulong sa pagtatayo ng nagkakaisang prente sa iba’t ibang antas ng teritoryo at iba’t ibang larangan ng aktibidad panlipunan. Sila ang pwersang nagbuklod sa hanay ng kabataan mula sa iba’t ibang patriyotiko at progresibong uri at sektor. Ang KM ay naging tampok na bahagi ng National Democratic Front.

Nagkaroon ng edukasyong pampulitika at pagsasanay ang mga lider ng Moro National Liberation Front, kabilang si Nur Misuari, nang sila’y mga lider at kasapi ng KM. Walang pagod na hinikayat ng KM ang mga aping pambansang minorya na igiit at gamitin ang kanilang karapatan sa pambansang pagpapasya-sa-sarili. Kaya tinahak ng mamamayang Moro at Lumad sa Mindanao, ng mamamayang Igorot, at iba pang mga tribo sa kabundukan at ng mga Aeta, ang rebolusyonaryong landas.

Pagbagsak ng Pasistang Diktadura

Signipikanteng pwersa ang KM sa 14 na taong pakikibaka laban sa pasistang diktadurang Marcos mula umpisa hanggang katapusan. Sa buong Pilipinas, lumahok ang mga upisyal at kasapi ng KM sa digmang bayan upang labanan ang pasistang rehimen at ang buong naghaharing sistema. Sila ay nasa Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas, sa Bagong Hukbong Bayan, sa lihim na mga organisasyong masa at sa mga organo ng kapangyarihang pampulitika sa kanayunan.

Nagmantine at nagpaunlad sila ng mga lihim na network sa kalunsuran. Kumilos sila sa pamamagitan ng mga di lantad na aktibista sa hayag na mga organisasyon at institusyon. Bigla silang lumilitaw at nawawala sa mga raling iglap, namamahagi ng mga polyeto, nagpipinta ng mga islogan sa mga pader at nagdidikit ng mga poster sa mga pampublikong lugar. Sinusubaybayan nila ang mga pwersa ng kaaway at nagbibigay ng kinakailangang datos-paniktik sa mga armadong partisano sa kalunsuran.

Naroon sila sa lahat ng pagsisikap na muling buhayin sa kalunsuran ang kilusang masa nang waring napatahimik ng pasistang rehimen ang mamamayan noong dekada 1970 at maagang bahagi ng dekada 1980. Sangkot sila sa hayag na muling pagtatatag ng mga patriyotiko at progresibong unyon sa paggawa, mga organisasyong pang-estudyante at iba pang tipo ng mga organisasyong masa. Sila’y nasa mga alyansang antipasista. Kasunod ng asasenasyon ni Aquino, kabilang sila sa pinakadeterminado at pinakamilitanteng mga aktibista sa lumalaking kilusang masa na siyang nagpabagsak sa diktadura.

Sa napakaraming mga paraan, malaki ang naging ambag nila sa pagsusulong ng rebolusyonaryong pakikibaka para sa pambansa at panlipunang paglaya. Nagtrabaho sila nang husto at nagsakripisyo sa kalunsuran at kanayunan. Malaking porsyento ng mga dinukot, tinortyur at pinatay ng pasistang rehimeng Marcos ay nagmula sa KM o nakakuha ng pampulitikang edukasyon at karanasan mula sa KM.

Pagpupunyagi sa Lihim na Kilusan at Pangmatagalang Pananaw

Matapos ang pagpapabagsak sa pasistang diktadurang Marcos, nagpasyang magpunyagi ang Kabataang Makabayan sa rebolusyonaryong kilusang lihim bilang isa sa mga mayor na bahagi ng National Democratic Front. Mula nang simulan ang pakikibaka sa pasistang rehimen, nagsilbi na ang KM bilang Communist Youth League (Liga ng mga Kabataang Komunista). Ito ay ayon sa komitment ng KM mula pa noong itatag ito 50 taon na ang nakararaan, na maging taguyod ng uring manggagawa na siyang taliba ng demokratikong rebolusyon ng bayan at maging sentro ng pagsasanay ng kabataan para sa rebolusyon.

Sinaklaw ko ang mga tungkulin at tagumpay ng KM mula nang itatag ito hanggang sa pagbagsak ni Marcos noong 1986. Nasa pinakamahusay na pusisyon ang kasalukuyang pamunuan ng Kabataang Makabayan upang balikan ang kasaysayan nito, laluna mula 1986 hanggang sa kasalukuyan, upang malagom at matasa ang rekord nito, mailatag ang mga tungkulin at pamamaraan para sa ibayong pagsulong at tanawin ang mas malalaking tagumpay sa hinaharap.

Napakarami pang dapat gawing trabaho, sakripisyo at militanteng pakikibaka upang makamit ang batayang kagampan ng demokratikong rebolusyon ng bayan sa pamamagitan ng pagbabagsak sa naghaharing sistema ng malalaking kumprador at panginoong maylupa na minamanduhan ng US. Maaari lamang tayong tumungo sa sosyalistang yugto ng rebolusyong Pilipino matapos maagaw ng proletaryado at mamamayan ang kapangyarihang pampulitika at maitatag na ang demokratikong sistema ng estadong bayan. Mula rito, maaari na nating planuhin at ilunsad ang sosyalistang rebolusyon at sosyalistang konstruksyon.

Subalit dahil ngayon pa lamang ay may malinaw na tayong sosyalistang perspektiba, tumitingala tayo sa pamumuno ng uring manggagawa bilang pinakaprogresibo at pinakaproduktibong pwersa sa pagkukumpleto ng demokratikong rebolusyon ng bayan at sa paglulunsad ng sosyalistang rebolusyon.

Taglay nito ang rebolusyonaryong teorya at praktikal na karanasan upang kumprontahin, labanan at gapiin ang malaking burgesya. Taglay din nito ang teorya ng nagpapatuloy na rebolusyon at panimulang praktika ng pagkokonsolida sa sosyalismo, paglaban sa modernong rebisyunismo at paghadlang sa panunumbalik ng kapitalismo.
Responsabilidad ng KM ang rebolusyonaryong edukasyon at pagsasanay ng kabataan. Upang maitaguyod ang sosyalistang perspektiba, dapat nitong palaganapin ang pag-aaral sa Marxismo-Leninismo-Maoismo. Sinasaklaw nito ang saligang turo nina Marx at Engels sa panahon ng Marxismo, ang karagdagang turo nina Lenin, Stalin at Mao hinggil sa pagwawagi ng proletaryong rebolusyon at pagtatatag ng sosyalistang lipunan sa panahon ng Marxismo-Leninismo at ang panimulang pagtatangka ni Mao na konsolidahin ang sosyalismo, labanan ang modernong rebisyunismo at hadlangan ang panunumbalik ng kapitalismo sa panahon ng Marxismo-Leninismo-Maoismo.

Ang matagalan at papalalang krisis ng pandaigdigang kapitalismo, na kinatatangian ng walang hanggang kahayukan ng monopolyo burgesya at oligarkiya sa pinansya sa ilalim ng neoliberalismo at ng tumitinding terorismo ng estado at mga gerang agresyon ay humihimok sa atin na mas determinado at mas militanteng magpunyagi para kumpletuhin ang demokratikong rebolusyon ng bayan at tumungo sa sosyalistang rebolusyon.

http://www.philippinerevolution.net/statements/20141130_ang-makasaysayang-papel-at-mga-kontribusyon-ng-kabataang-makabayan

CPP/NDF/Sison: Why celebrate KM@50?

NDF propaganda statement posted to the CPP Website (Nov 30): Why celebrate KM@50?

Prof. Jose Maria Sison
Founding Chairman
Kabataang Makabayan

 

We celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Kabataang Makabayan in order to show our appreciation for its historic role and contributions in the advancement of the new democratic revolution. We must honor and emulate the KM rank and file for all their struggles, sacrifices and achievements in the service of the Filipino youth and the entire Filipino people. The youth of today can learn so much from the experience and achievements of KM.

We, the founders, based the KM on the revolutionary tradition of the Filipino people by founding the KM on the 101st birth anniversary of Andres Bonifacio on November 30, 1964. We were sharply aware that US imperialism interrupted the Philippine revolution by unleashing a war of aggression against the Filipino people, making the Philippines its colony after killing hundreds of thousands of Filipinos and proceeding to train its puppets for semi-colonial rule.

We were aware of the fact that the Philippines had entered the world era of modern imperialism and proletarian revolution. We wanted to continue at a new and higher level the old democratic revolution led by the liberal bourgeoisie against old style Spanish colonialism and feudalism by waging the new democratic revolution led by the working class against US imperialism, feudalism and bureaucrat capitalism under the semi-colonial and semi-feudal conditions of the Philippines.

The Kabataang Makabayan adopted the role of being the patriotic and progressive vanguard of the Filipino youth. It aimed to build itself as a comprehensive organization of the young men and women from the toiling masses of workers and peasants and the middle social strata. It offered itself as the assistant of the working class as the leading class in the new democratic revolution. It aimed to become the training center of the activists of the legal democratic movement and the future cadres of the revolution.

The KM founding congress ratified its Constituion and Program of Action, demanding complete national independence, democratic rights and the empowerment of the working people, genuine land reform and national industrialization, social justice, a national, scientific and mass culture and an independent foreign policy for the solidarity of all peoples and countries, peace and development in opposition to imperialism and reaction.

Among the founders of the KM were proletarian revolutionaries and participants in mass actions since 1959. They came from the student movement, the trade union movement, the peasant movements and intellectual circles. They had an understanding of the new democratic revolution as a result of previous studies in the history and circumstances of the Filipino people and in the theory and practice of Marxism-Leninism. They were of the consensus that the victory of new democratic revolution would prepare the ground for a still better and brighter future of the Filipino people in socialism.

The KM propelled the national democratic mass movement in the 1960s and thereafter. It aroused, organized and mobilized the students at the secondary and tertiary levels, the young teachers and other professionals, the youth section of the Lapiang Manggagawa and the trade unions; and the youth section of the peasant associations. We organized chapters in schools, factories and the communities of the urban poor and peasants.

We conducted study sessions on the general line of the new democratic revolution and on current issues. Among the most interested and most advanced activists, we carried out study sessions on the theory and practice of Marxism-Leninism. We were determined to develop the proletarian revolutionaries from the ranks of the mass activists. This was in keeping with the role of the KM as the assistant of the working class and its revolutionary party.

We made statements and launched dramatic protest mass actions on current events and issues involving the national sovereignty, democratic rights and social conditions of the Filipino people and the youth. We confronted US imperialism and the ruling system of big compradors and landlords on domestic issues. And we also stood in solidarity with the oppressed peoples of Asia, Africa and Latin America and the peoples in the imperialist countries.

The KM became the most outstanding organization in condemning and calling for the abrogation of such unequal agreements with the US as the US-RP Military Assistance Agreement, the Military Bases Agreement, the Mutual Defense Pact, the Quirino-Foster Agreement and the Laurel-Langley Agreement. We held the puppet government culpable for servility to US imperialism and betrayal of the sovereign rights and interests of the Filipino people.

We exposed and opposed the big comprador-landlord character of the reactionary government. We called for the improvement of the wage and living conditions of the workers, genuine land reform for the benefit of the landless tillers and for the purpose of national industrialization, expansion of the public school system at all levels, and better study and living conditions of students. We denounced the ever-rising level of unemployment, the falling incomes, the inflated prices of basic goods and services and lack or dearth of essential social services.

We vigorously condemned the US and its imperialist allies for their acts of military intervention and aggression and supported the struggles of the people they victimized. We opposed the US-UK Malaysia project, the US-directed massacre of the Indonesian people, the full-blown US war of aggression against the Vietnamese and other Indochinese peoples and the US acts of intervention and aggression against the Cuban people, Korean people and other peoples in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

To facilitate the expansion of the KM in particular areas, regions or nationwide, the KM always built its own reliable strength and amplify this with alliances within definite classes and sectors and on a multisectoral basis. It could recruit workers and form chapters among them by having close fraternal relations with labor federations. Peasant associations also facilitated the rural immersion programs of the KM. The KM maintained alliances with campus organizations and with national student associations as well as with the teachers and other professionals.

In 1966 the KM chairman became the general secretary of the anti-imperialist united front organization, the Movement for the Advancement of Nationalism, on the strength of Kabataang Makabayan and its close connections with the worker and peasant movements and with the student movement and progressive intellectual circles.
Several big anti-imperialist mass actions were held under the auspices of MAN.

From year to year, the chronic crisis of the semicolonial and semifeudal ruling system worsened during the regime of Marcos. The broad masses of the people were suffering from the escalation of oppression and exploitation. Unemployment was rampant and the prices of basic goods and services were rising. The peasants were groaning under the weight of land dispossession and rising land rent. The student youth were beset by the rising costs of study and living.

The Marcos regime was increasingly violent in reacting to mass protests on domestic issues. When the US wanted to involve the Philippines in the US war of aggression in Vietnam, Marcos readily agreed and unleashed the military and police against the KM-led youth protesting the 1966 Manila Summit of US President Lyndon Johnson with the leaders of partner countries and client states in the Asia-Pacific region. In response, the KM intensified the deployment of urban activists in mass work in rural areas to prepare for people’s war.

The KM spread nationwide. It recruited student leaders from national student organizations and from the upsurge of student strikes. It had members and chapters in all regions and in most provinces. It gave special attention to the national minorities because they continued to be the most exploited and oppressed and they had resisted foreign domination. It gave political education and training to some who would eventually become leaders of the revolutionary movement among the Moro and Igorot peoples.

For organizing its chapters, the KM always had the OD-ED team. The OD cadre made sure that the organizational meetings were held in coordination with those to be organized and that the chapter was established with the election of officers. The ED cadre made sure that the recruits gained adequate understanding of the general line of new democratic revolution, the most important points in the KM Constitution and Program of Action and the burning issues of the day.

For the purpose of political education, the KM handbook of basic documents was the basic tool in recruitment of members and establishment of chapters. It was reinforced by the publication of the KM Chairman’s book Struggle for National Democracy in 1967. It was further reinforced by Amado Guerrero’s Philippine Society and Revolution in 1969. Each book was avidly read and studied by the KM rank and file.

When mass actions were undertaken, local buildup meetings and rallies were held. The slogans were sharpened. The manifestoes were formulated and distributed. Agitational street broadcasts were done. The agitational speakers were readied. The KM Education and Propaganda Department developed the writers and speakers for the purpose.

To make the mass actions even more interesting and engaging, cultural numbers were performed in the streets and on improvised stages. For the purpose, the KM Cultural Bureau promoted the organization of cultural groups and the development of the performers in various art forms.

The reestablishment of the Communist Party of the Philippines on December 26, 1968 and the founding of the New People’s Army became publicly known. It served to inspire the mass movement in the national capital region and on a national scale in 1969. Workers’ strikes against oppressive and exploitative employers became widespread. Student protest rallies against the Marcos regime and student strikes against ultra-reactionary school authorities also continued to spread like wild fire. A large contingent of peasants from Central Luzon came to Manila to demand land reform in 1969.

The KM spearheaded the First Quarter Storm of 1970. This burst out and was inflamed by the violent dispersal of the protest rallies and marches. At different points in Metro Manila the youth, the workers and the people in general assembled. In growing columns of marchers, they converged on the center of Manila and rallied in front of Congress, the presidential palace and the US embassy. They ranged from 50,000 to 100,000 in number per weekly mass action. They cried out, “Makibaka, huwag matakot (Fight, don’t be cowed)! People’s war is the answer to martial law!”

The KM also spearheaded the Diliman Commune. This arose at the University of the Philippines in early 1971. It was ignited by the rising costs of fuel which led to higher costs of study and living. The Marcos regime ordered the police and military to enter the campus. But the students and faculty members resisted by setting up barricades and occupying the buildings and grounds of the university. Mass protest actions by the youth, workers and peasants occurred on a nationwide scale during most of the year.

After winning the 1969 presidential elections by means of fraud and terrorism and inflationary spending of public funds, Marcos emcouraged his own political subalterns and the clerico-fascists to call for a drastic change of the 1935 constitution of the Philippines as the way for him to remove the maximum limit of two 4-year presidential terms and to realize his ambition of becoming a fascist dictator.

In 1971 he masterminded the Plaza Miranda grenade attack on the miting de avance of the opposition Liberal Party. Within a few hours after the incident, he blamed this on the Communist Party of the Philippines and his main political rival Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr. and proclaimed the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus. He ordered the nationwide raids on the offices of the Kabataang Makabayan and other national democratic mass organizations and the arrest of their leaders. The suspension of the writ of habeas corpus was the dress rehearsal for the fascist proclamation of martial law in 1972.

As a result of the 1971 suspension of the writ and the raids and arrests directed against the national democratic movement, the KM accelerated the deployment of its most exposed and “wanted” leaders in the urban underground and in the guerrilla zones. Due to the mass protests spearheaded by the Movement of Concerned Citizens for Civil Liberties, Marcos pretended to lift the suspension of the writ. Even then, the KM prepared itself against the widely anticipated proclamation of martial law, which was done by Marcos formally on September 21, 1972.

Even before 1972, the KM was already deploying the CPP members and advanced mass activists among the KM members to join the New People’s Army or rural mass work to prepare local areas for guerrilla zone development. After the proclamation of martial law, a far greater number of KM members joined the people’s army and conducted rural mass work.

The Communist Party of the Philippines owes to the KM its nationwide scale and deep roots among the masses. In the 14-year course of the Marcos fascist dictatorship, KM officers and members became cadres and members of the Communist Party of the Philippines. They occupied responsible positions in the leading and staff organs of the CPP. They became commanders and political officers of the New People’s Army. They organized the various types of revolutionary mass organizations for workers, peasants, youth, women, teachers, health workers, cultural activists and so on. They participated in building and activating the organs of political power.

The KM officers and members spanned the toiling masses of workers and peasants, the middle social strata and the various sectors. They were in a position to help in the building of the united front at various territorial levels and in various fields of social activity. They were a binding force among the youth from the various patriotic and progressive classes and sectors. The KM became an outstanding component of the National Democratic Front.

The KM was a significant force in the 14 years of revolutionary struggle of the people against the Marcos fascist dictatorship from beginning to end. All over the Philippines, KM officers and members participated in the people’s war to fight the fascist regime and the entire ruling system. They were in the Communist Party of the Philippines, New People’s Army, the underground mass organizations and organs of political power in the countryside.

They maintained and developed urban underground networks. They operated through unexposed activists in the aboveground organizations and institutions. They suddenly appeared and disappeared to make lightning demonstrations, distribute leaflets, paint slogans on walls and paste posters in public places. They conducted surveillance on the enemy forces and provided the necessary intelligence for the armed city partisans.

They were in every effort to revive the mass movement where the fascist regime appeared to have silenced the people in the 1970s and early 1980s. They were involved in the open reestablishment of patriotic and progressive trade unions, student organizations and other types of mass organizations. They were in the anti-fascist alliances. Following the Aquino assassination, they were among the most resolute and most militant activists in the groundswell of the mass movement that eventually toppled the dictatorship.

In so many ways, they made important contributions to the advance of the revolutionary struggle for national and social liberation. They did hard work and made sacrifices in the urban and rural areas. A high proportion of those who were abducted, tortured and murdered by the Marcos fascist regime came from the KM or received their political education and experience from the KM.

After the overthrow of the Marcos fascist dictatorship, the Kabataang Makabayan decided to persevere in the revolutionary underground as one of the major components of the National Democratic Front. Ever since the struggle against the fascist regime, the KM has served as the Communist Youth League. This is in consonance with the commitment of the KM since its founding 50 years ago to be the assistant of the working class as vanguard of the people’s democratic revolution and the training center of the youth for the revolution.

The current leadership of the Kabataang Makabayan is in the best position to look back to its history, especially from 1986 to the present, in order to assess and evaluate its record, to set forth the tasks and methods for further advances and to look forward to greater victories in the future.

There is still a tremendous lot of hard work, sacrifices and militant struggle needed to achieve the basic completion of the people’s democratic revolution through the overthrow of the US-directed ruling system of big compradors and landlords. We can proceed to the socialist stage of the Philippine revolution only after the proletariat and the people have seized political power and have established the people’s democratic state system.

The protracted and ever worsening crisis of the world capitalism, characterized by the boundless greed of the monopoly bourgeoisie and financial oligarchy under neoliberalism and mounting state terrorism and wars of aggression, urges us to struggle ever more resolutely and militantly for the completion of the people’s democratic revolution and proceed to the socialist revolution.

http://www.philippinerevolution.net/statements/20141130_why-celebrate-km-50

Rebels raid Army detachment in Misamis

From the Philippine Star (Nov 28): Rebels raid Army detachment in Misamis

Suspected New People’s Army (NPA) rebels attacked a detachment of the Philippine Army in Barangay Kibanban, Balingasag, Misamis Oriental Thursday dawn.

Col. Jose Eriel Niembra, commander of the 58th Infantry Battalion based in Claveria town, said no one was reported wounded in the 10-minute firefight.

Niembra said the NPA rebels took advantage of the lull in the military’s offensive as the soldiers were involved in disaster preparedness for Tropical Depression Queenie.

http://www.philstar.com/nation/2014/11/28/1396514/rebels-raid-army-detachment-misamis

Draft Bangsamoro Basic Law translated to Filipino

From Rappler (Nov 28): Draft Bangsamoro Basic Law translated to Filipino

The translation of the bill to the national language will help allay fears or concerns of Filipinos about the proposed Bangsamoro region in Mindanao, says the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino

TRANSLATED. The Bangsamoro Basic Law in English and Filipino. Michael Bueza/Rappler

 

To help inform Filipinos about the proposed Bangsamoro political entity in Mindanao, the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (KWF or the Commission on the Filipino Language) has translated the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) to Filipino.

 

"Kinakailangang masalin ito para mapawi ang lahat ng agam-agam o pangamba ng taumbayan hinggil sa batas na ito (It needs to be translated to allay the concerns or fears of Filipinos about this bill)," KWF Director-General Roberto Añonuevo said.

Añonuevo made the announcement during KWF's monthly Kapihang Wika event at the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) building in Intramuros, Manila, on Friday, November 28.

"Kung ang mga talakayan tungkol sa ganitong kahalagang batas ay nasa wika ng taumbayan, nasa wikang pambansa o nasa wika sa rehiyon, mauunawaan nila kung bakit kinakailangan ito," Añonuevo said. (READ: Legal experts take on Bangsamoro bill)

(If the discussions regarding this important measure is in the language of the masses, or in the national or regional language, the people would understand why this law is needed.)

The Filipino translation of House Bill 4994, he said, would help resolve misunderstanding when reading or interpreting the measure that was originally written in English. (INFOGRAPHIC: The Bangsamoro peace deal at a glance)

Stakeholders of the BBL would be consulted first before releasing an official Filipino translation of the draft law, said the KWF.

Añonuevo added that the commission plans to translate the draft BBL to regional languages such as the Manobo, Tausug, or Meranaw, but they do not have funds for it.

"Hindi pa namin maasikaso iyan dahil kulang na kulang kami sa tauhan, at wala rin kaming budget para magbayad sa mga mahuhusay na tao (We have yet to work on that, because we lack manpower and we do not have a budget yet to pay experts)," he said.

He sought the help of Congress and both sides of the peace panel to provide them funds for the endeavor.

Añonuevo said that the KWF would formally give a copy of the Filipino translation of HB 4994 to Congress through Representative Sitti Turabin Hataman of Anak Mindanao party-list. (TIMELINE: The long road to the Bangsamoro region)
He added that copies of the bill in Filipino would also be provided to concerned agencies and local government units.

In September, the Aquino administration formally handed over to Congress the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law. The government hopes to ratify the measure by March 2015.

http://www.rappler.com/nation/76384-draft-bangsamoro-basic-law-filipino-translation-kwf

Bangsamoro to get P70B initial budget – Iqbal

From Rappler (Nov 28): Bangsamoro to get P70B initial budget – Iqbal

Unlike the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, the Bangsamoro government is envisioned to get automatic appropriations worth 4% of the national governmental share in the net internal revenue collection


BUDGET HIKE. Bangsamoro Transition Commission chairman and Moro Islamic Liberation Front chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal answers questions from the media after the launch of the Bangsamoro Basic Law primer at EDSA Shangri-la on November 28, 2014. Photo by Rappler

For years, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) has complained of not getting enough funds, with their average annual budget only amounting to about 1% of the total national budget.

Each year, like any another government agency, the ARMM has to face Congress to defend its proposed budget for the year – a concrete indication, critics say, that the ARMM is still not truly autonomous.

 

This could change under the proposed Bangsamoro basic law, which seeks to create the Bangsamoro – a parliamentary form of regional government designed to have greater fiscal and political autonomy than the current ARMM.

 

Under the bill, the Bangsamoro government is designed to get automatic appropriations computed through a specific formula, in addition to other sources of funding.

 

Should Congress approve the proposed arrangements for fiscal autonomy, the envisioned Bangsamoro government will get an initial funding of about P70 billion in its first year of operation, Bangsamoro Transition Commission chairman and Moro Islamic Liberation Front chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal said in a forum in Ortigas on Friday, November 28.

 

Iqbal's computation includes the internal revenue allotment (IRA) of local government units (LGUs), which, by law, should be automatically appropriated to the LGUs themselves.

 

The proposed basic law provides that all privileges already devolved to LGUs will not be diminished. Iqbal said the total IRA of LGUs in the proposed Bangsamoro core territory is estimated at P18 billion. 

 

Unlike the ARMM, the Bangsamoro government will receive a block grant of 4% in the share of the national government in the internal revenue allotment (IRA). This is a separate amount from the IRA for LGUs.

 

The formula for the block grant is one of the unique features of the new autonomous government that separates it from the ARMM. The ARMM Organic Act does not provide for a specific computation for its annual budget – which is primarily why the ARMM budget has remained dismal over the years.

 

The block grant also means that the Bangsamoro will no longer have to go to Congress to defend their proposed budget since amount will just be automatically downloaded to them and it will be up to the Bangsamoro Parliament to legislate where it will be used for.

 

The block grant is expected to amount to at least P35 billion in the Bangsamoro government's first year of operation, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said in an earlier budget hearing.

 

The estimated amount is an improvement from the P24 billion budget approved for the ARMM for 2015, which is already the highest in its entire history.

 

Aside from the block grant, Iqbal said the Bangsamoro will also get a special development fund from the national government for infrastructure projects, including the building of provincial and municipal roads. The fund, to be provided for a period of 5 years upon the ratification of the law, is expected to amount to around P10 billion.

 

Another source of funding would be money coursed through different regional departments under the Bangsamoro for projects funded by national agencies. This is expected to amount to around P12 billion.

 

In summary, the expected source of funds for the Bangsamoro, according to Iqbal, include:

• Around P35 billion from the block grant
• Around P10 billion from the special development fund
• Around P18 billion from the internal revenue allotment of LGUs
• Around P12 billion for funds from national agencies awarded to regional departments

"All in all we are looking at around P70 billion," Iqbal said.

 

In July 2013, the government and the MILF signed a deal on how wealth will be shared between the central and regional government. This served as one of the primary basis for the revenue arrangements in the proposed law.

 

Under the deal, the following wealth-sharing arrangements were agreed upon:

• 75-25 in favor of the Bangsamoro for taxes and charges "other than tariff and custom duties" collected within its jurisdiction
• 75-25 in favor of the Bangsamoro for profits from metallic minerals
• 100% of revenues form non-metallic minerals (sand, gravel and quarry resources) will go to Bangsamoro
• 50-50 for income from energy sources, such as petroleum, natural gas and uranium

The deal increased the share of the proposed Bangsamoro on taxes and metallic minerals to 75% from 70% in the current ARMM.

 

It also changed the qualification of minerals from "strategic" and "non-strategic" – which government chief negotiator Miriam Coronel-Ferrer has said were political in nature – to the categorical "metallic" and "non-metallic" in a bid to prevent future conflict on how revenues from such resources will be divided between the national and regional government.

 

These arrangements will be subject to review after 10 years. 

 

Three years after the operation of the Bangsamoro government, any additional taxes or revenues from metallic minerals that it will generate will be deducted from the 4% block grant.

 

The provision was proposed by the MILF during the negotiations, government peace panel member Senen Bacani said earlier.

 

It represents their aspiration towards true autonomy, he said.

 

http://www.rappler.com/nation/special-coverage/peacetalks/76411-bangsamoro-initial-budget-iqbal

DOCUMENT: Bangsamoro Basic Law Primer

From Rappler (Nov 28): DOCUMENT: Bangsamoro Basic Law Primer

The Bangsamoro Transition Commission, in cooperation with the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue and the European Union, releases a primer on the landmark bill

 

A product of the final peace deal between the Philippine government and the the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law seeks to address decades-old grievances by creating a new regional government with greater fiscal and political powers than the current Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

 

As the bill passes through deliberations in Congress, what have been the most frequently asked questions on the measure?

Read the primer prepared by the Bangsamoro Transition Commission, the group that crafted the initial draft of the law, in cooperation with the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue and the European Union, below.

Read the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law as submitted to Congress below:

DRAFT Bangsamoro Basic Law by Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process

http://www.rappler.com/nation/special-coverage/peacetalks/76400-bangsamoro-basic-law-primer

CPP-NPA’s Tiamzons to be brought to Cebu for arraignment Dec. 1

From GMA News (Nov 28): CPP-NPA’s Tiamzons to be brought to Cebu for arraignment Dec. 1

Police and military officials in Cebu on Thursday mapped out security arrangements for the court appearance of two top communist leaders before a court there on December 1.

CPP power couple Wilma and Benito Tiamzon are to be arraigned before the Toledo City court on Dec. 1, GMA Cebu's Bexmae Jumao-as reported Friday.

Central Visayas regional police head Chief Superintendent Prudencio Bañas said the Philippine National Police and Armed Forces of the Philippines have met to iron out their security preparations.

The Tiamzons are ranking officials of the Communist Party of the Philippines and New People's Army.

They were arrested in Cebu last March 22 and were later brought to Camp Crame in Quezon City.

Police are particularly preparing for protests by the Tiamzons' supporters.

Wilma is said to be the secretary general of the CPP-NPA while Benito, her husband, is believed to be the chairman of the groups.

Both were arrested by virtue of warrants for crimes against humanity including murder, multiple murder and frustrated murder.

The Tiamzon couple has been detained at Philippine National Police Custodial Center in Camp Crame.

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/390197/news/nation/cpp-npa-s-tiamzons-to-be-brought-to-cebu-for-arraignment-dec-1

Symbolic decommissioning of MILF firearms set in January

From GMA News (Nov 28): Symbolic decommissioning of MILF firearms set in January

It's almost all systems go for the decommissioning of firearms of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), with a symbolic turnover scheduled in January, MILF peace panel chair Mohagher Iqbal said Friday.

The decommissioning is among the terms agreed upon by the MILF and the national government as reflected in the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro signed on March 27, 2014 in the Malacañang.

At the sidelines of a forum on the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), Iqbal said the Independent Decommissioning Body (IDB) set up in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, last September has already come up with an inventory of firearms that need to be turned over by the MILF as well as guidelines in the decommissioning process.

“The members of the decomissioning body has already identified the numbers of firearms, and they have initially put up the documents that would provide the terms of reference for the decommissioning of the MILF combatants,” he said.

Iqbal, however, was quick to add that the decommissioning guidelines as well as the initial numbers of firearms identified by the IDB still need to be validated and finalized.

Initial batch

Despite this, Iqbal said the MILF is set to turnover an initial 75 firearms in late January of next year. He said 25 pieces of the firearms are high-powered, while the rest are medium-powered.

“This is part of our ultimate sacrifice, to really give peace,” Iqbal said, adding the symbolic turnover ceremony would most likely be held in Maguindanao.

Iqbal also stressed that the firearms to be intially turned over are serviceable and neither defective nor decrepit as claimed by some critics.

Confidential info

Iqbal refused to give a figure on the total number of firearms identified by the IDB, citing security reasons.

Presidential adviser on the peace process Teresita Quintos-Deles also declined to give figures on the number of firearms identified by the IDB to be still in the possession of the MILF.

“Siyempre this is a high-security, highly-confidential information. It's not because of fears of the parties against each other, it's because there are other many elements that might take advantage of these numbers and this kind of information, so it really has to be undisclosed,” Deles said.

Deles said the firearms that will be turned over will be stored in the country, with the exact location to be finalized by the IDB.

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/390258/news/nation/symbolic-decommissioning-of-milf-firearms-set-in-january

MILF chair Iqbal: Bangsamoro entity still on schedule

From GMA News (Nov 28): MILF chair Iqbal: Bangsamoro entity still on schedule

The peace process between the national government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) remains on track even with the expected delay in the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), MILF peace panel chairman Mohagher Iqbal said on Friday.

 

Despite the statement of the House of Representatives leadership that it could take the chamber until February of next year to approve the BBL as contained in House Bill 4994, Iqbal said the development in the peace process was still within the time frame that the MILF and national government peace negotiators wanted.

 

Iqbal said there was still ample time for the ratification of the BBL through a plebiscite and the creation of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) to govern Mindanao for one year until 2016 elections. This, he said, even after the House of Representatives moved to its target to pass the BBL from December 17 to February 2015, 

 

“Actually yung February na sinasabi ng Kongreso, that's internal to them. Ang settled na issue dyan is, kailangan ang term ng Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) would be at least one year. So, if you look at the calendar, the BTA should be in place in May 2015 and we're still in November right now, so, althrough time runs very fast, we're still on track,” Iqbal said.

 

According to the draft BBL as contained in House Bill 4994, the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) will serve as the interim government of the region for one year upon the BBL's ratification through a plebiscite.

 

Afterwhich, all powers will be transferred to the Bangsamoro government, officials of which will be elected by the people of the region in 2016 elections.

 

The Bangsamoro government is set to replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

 

Asked during the forum if the MILF and the government had an alternative plan if the BBL would be passed, Iqbal replied: “There is no plan B, only plan A. We trust the government, we trust President Aquino. For Congress, we trust their collective wisdom that this BBL is going to happen.”

 

For her part, National Commission on Muslim Filipinos Secretary Yasmin Busran-Lao also expressed confidence that the BBL passage and ratification would push through.

 

“We owe it to the people (in Mindanao) for their voices to be heard through the plebiscite. And the kind of support being expressed all over the country gives me hope that we are now ready for the sustainable peace process,” Lao said.

 

Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Quintos-Deles said officials continued to work closely with Congress to iron out contentious issues on the BBL such as provisions on wealth and power sharing, the Shariah justice system and peace and security administration among others.

 

“I'm sure the Congress recognizes the urgency, the (time) constraints in terms of possible Supreme Court challenges...We are at the cusp of a very real possibility of achieving peace and the Bangsamoro Basic Law is instrumental in making it happen,” Deles said.

 

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/390263/news/nation/milf-chair-iqbal-bangsamoro-entity-still-on-schedule

MNLF hits out at gov’t diversionary tactics in Zamboanga siege case

From the Daily Tribune (Nov 29): MNLF hits out at gov’t diversionary tactics in Zamboanga siege case

The dropping of charges against 59 suspected members of the Moro National Liberation Front proves that the government only resorted to diversionary tactic in filing cases against the Nur Misuari-led group in connection with the 2013 Zamboanga City siege, an MNLF official yesterday said.

Lawyer Emmanuel Fontanilla, spokesman for the MNLF faction of Misuari, stressed the filing of cases against the MNLF members was an “incendiary action” of the Aquino administration, considering the peace agreement between the government and the MNLF.

“It shows that the cases are more of diversionary tactics…This is an incendiary action of the government considering the peace agreements,” he told The Tribune.

The Department of Justice (DoJ) had earlier dismissed the criminal charges against 59 of the 284 accused MNLF members in connection with the September 2013 siege of Zamboanga City for “lack of sufficient evidence.”

In a 63-page resolution on the reinvestigation ordered by the Pasig City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 158, the DoJ said the charges for rebellion, insurrection and violations of Republic Act 9851, or the “Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crime Against Humanity,” against the alleged followers of Misuari should be withdrawn.

“The respondents were not duly proved by the evidence on record to have participated in the crimes alleged... Their individual criminal liability was not clearly shown. As far as the respondents-accused are concerned, there was no positive identification by any of the civilian witnesses presented by the complainant (Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group Region 9),” the DoJ resolution which was made public the other day said.

The Justice department stressed the only evidence against them — affidavits of arrest executed by the military and police — “failed to state with certainty the actual acts perpetrated by the arrested respondents-accused that would make them liable of the offenses charged.”

The accused-respondents gave various defenses before the DoJ panel, with some of them claiming they were unceremoniously rounded up by authorities.

The conflict resulted in the killing of more than 200 persons while more than 100,000 were displaced.

The DoJ filed rebellion charges against the MNLF personalities, led by Misuari and his loyal commanders Ustadz Habier Malik, Bas Arki and Assamin Hussin. The four remained at-large.

There were MNLF members now detained after they were arrested or surrendered at the height of the conflict that lasted for 21 days.

Aside from rebellion charges, the accused were also charged with violation of Republic Act (RA) 9851 or the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide and other Crimes against Humanity.

“The filing of case against Maas (Misuari’s nickname) is the greatest blunder of the government,” Fontanilla said.

Misuari has declared independence from the Philippine government in August 2013 in protest of the government signing an agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), a breakaway faction of the MNLF.

The MNLF founding chairman established the “Bangsamoro Republik” after accusing the government of abrogating the 1996 Final Peace Agreement (FPA) between the MNLF and the Philippine government.

The MNLF maintained that the 1996 FPA was not fully implemented up to now.

http://www.tribune.net.ph/headlines/mnlf-hits-out-at-gov-t-diversionary-tactics-in-zamboanga-siege-case