CPP vows to wage ''all-out resistance against Duterte's fascist tyranny''
The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) vowed to wage relentless propaganda to expose the "lies" of President Rodrigo Duterte and the military as they celebrated their 50th founding anniversary.
"We mark the Party's 50th anniversary as the US-Duterte regime unleashes full-scale fascist terror and tyranny in the name of crushing the Party, defeating the armed revolution by mid-2019," CPP said in a message.
"Let's celebrate the CPP's 50th anniversary as we wage all-out resistance against Duterte's fascist tyranny, corruption and puppetry," it said.
CPP said a united front of democratic forces and broad range of anti-Duterte opposition forces continue to gain strength as demand for justice under the Duterte regime continues to rise.
"The Communist Party of the Philippines continues to grow in strength in the course of the struggle against US-Duterte regime and waging protracted people's war to carry forward the people's democratic revolution," it said.
"In doing so, the Party has fortified its position to further strength the revolutionary mass movement and lead the NPA in further advancing the people's war," it added.
According to the group, the Philippines remains "economically backward, agrarian and non-industrial" as natural wealth and labor resources are being plundered by multinational corporations.
It also said rice production is backward with irrigation limited to less than 30 percent and use of large farm machineries are highly limited.
On the labor side, CPP said there is a chronic mass unemployment in the absence of industrialization as there is no manufacturing sector in majority of the country.
"Under Duterte, the worst facets of the semicolonial and semifeudal system have grown even more grotesque in the face of the prolonged depression of the global capitalist system," it said.
CPP said under this administration, debt rose by more than 17 percent to P7.167 trillion from P6.09 trillion in 2016, trade deficit risen to $33.9 billion in the first 10 months as a result of large increase in importation of capital goods to supply semi-processing and the China-funded infrastructure binge.
It also said the peso is set to further devalue against the dollar.
The group said the corruption is all over the administration and the president is an allied of the Marcoses and Arroyos to mobilize their political support since 2016.
"The biggest corruption scheme under Duterte involved hundreds of billions of pesos in planned infrastructure projects. Duterte and his family, cronies and political allies are set to further enlarge their wealth through bribes and cuts in loan and construction contracts and finders fees in overpriced infrastructure projects," CPP said.
The group also attacked Duterte for selling out the Filipino people's "sovereign rights and national patrimony" to China in agreement to joint exploration of oil and gas resources in the West Philippine Sea.
The government's war on drugs and declaration of martial law in Mindanao were also condemned by the group saying these are anti-people policies.
"He has bribed military and police officials with salary increases, cash rewards for death squad operations and billions of unaudited intelligence funds and appointments in government offices," it said.
They also called the claim of the military to completely finish the NPA by mid-2019 "impossible deadline". They added the so-called "localized peace talks" by the Armed Forces of the Philippines does not intend to address the roots of armed conflicts but a divide-and-rule tactic and an additional corruption racket.
"The US-Duterte regime's fascism and puppetry are engendering the rapid growth of revolutionary armed struggle and mass movement while accelerating its isolation and heightening the people's determination to cause its overthrow," CPP said.
CPP said even with the support of the US military, finishing the NPA rebels will fail as Duterte does not have the "support" of people.
"Duterte's all-out-war and complete disregard for human rights, international humanitarian law and the civilized conduct of war are inciting people's antifascist resistance," it added.
The CPP established on December 26, 1968 by Jose Maria Sison who has been in exile in the Netherlands since 1987, under the theoretical guidance of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism doctrines. Ella Dionisio/DMS
