JMJ Marist Brothers

Notre Dame of Marbel University

College of Arts and Sciences
Alunan Ave., City of Koronadal, South Cotabato

Birth of Communism in the Philippines

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Analysis Paper

Presented to
The Faculty of College of Arts and Sciences
NOTRE DAME OF MARBEL UNIVERSITY
Koronadal City, South Cotabato

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In Partial Fulfillment
of the Course Requirements in
Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of Political Data
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Submitted by:
Cazzandra Angela A. Pasaporte

October 2021
 JMJ Marist Brothers
Notre Dame of Marbel University
College of Arts and Sciences
Alunan Ave., City of Koronadal, South Cotabato

INTRODUCTION

Economic disparity and injustices in the society gave birth to communism in the
Philippines.1 Communism is a political ideology presented by Karl Marx and Friedrich
Engels, which aims to replace private ownership with public ownership on major means
of production such as factories and mines. The negative impact of industrial capitalism
on the lives of labor workers of Europe during the 19th century started the notion of
“alienated labor,” one of the foundations of Marx’s ideology in his work Capital. The
exploitation of industrial workers under a capitalist society and division of classes between
the owning capitalists (bourgeoisie) and property-less workers (proletariats), will be
solved by the unification of the proletariats in a revolution to overturn the government and
replace it with communism. His ideology, which was published in his book Communist
Manifesto in 1848, became the blueprint of a new ideology that influenced the 20th politics
from Russia to Asia. 2

One of the biggest influences of communism is in Russia, after the October

Revolution of 1917, the rise of Vladimir Lenin gave birth to Communism-Leninism after
the Bolshevik party overthrew the ruling Tsars. The driving force of the revolution’s
success was the power of the masses, it was the first successful communist revolution in
the world. This was then replicated across Asia, especially in the existence of the
Communist Party of China. Mao Zedong empowered the peasants as its proletariat class.
Zedong believed that political power grew from the barrel of a gun, therefore, it is
necessary to arm the peasantry to empower the laboring people. Maoism became known
as the guerrilla-style rural version of Marxism-Leninism revolutionary strategy.3 His rural
development focus influenced other countries, such as the Philippines.

Birth of Filipino Communism

1
Ligot, J. C. (1994). Communist insurgency in the Philippines.
https://calhoun.nps.edu/bitstream/handle/10945/30553/94Jun_Ligot.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y (iii)

2
Willis, K. (2011). Theoris and practices of Development. (page 19)

3
Willis, K. (2011). Theoris and practices of Development. (page 22)
 JMJ Marist Brothers
Notre Dame of Marbel University
College of Arts and Sciences
Alunan Ave., City of Koronadal, South Cotabato

The struggles of the Filipinos under the reign of different colonizers such as the Spanish,
Americans, and Japanese, sparked the flame of communism in the Philippines. Filipino
struggle for liberty during the Spanish colonization lasted for 333 years and the
establishment of encomienda system was the start of insurgencies in the country.
Spanish oppressive government milked the hard-earned money and labor of the Filipinos.
After the struggles at the hands of the Spaniards, Filipinos went through other colonizers,
the Americans.4 On the 34th anniversary of the national revolutionary struggle led by
Andres Bonifacio, labor and peasants gathered in a convention. At the peak of the crisis
caused by capitalism, the determination of young to break free from the chains of
capitalism and aim for a better social system. It banked on peasant alliance which puts
forward patriotism and international proletarian internationalism.
Afterward, Crisanto Evangelista and other members established their party,
the Partido Obrero de Filipinas or the Labor Party of the Philippines, which became the
framework of the Communist Party of the Philippines. On November 7, 1930, the party
launched its official public rally at Templo del Trabajo, Tondo, Manila, which was attended
by 5,000 labor workers. This was when the Moscow-oriented Communist Party of the
Philippines or Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas was established. After their imprisonment,
PKP weakened due to the continual arrest of its members when the government labeled
it as a subversive group. The party also failed to acknowledge the countryside peasantry
and focused on city labor unions (Kerkvliet, 1977).
On November 7, 1938, PKP and Socialist Party headed by Abad Santos merged,
however, it was not a successful merge due to the disagreements within the party. During
the Japanese colonization, the leaders, Evangelista and Santos were arrested.
Evangelista was executed and the latter was set free but died shortly due to his illness.
After their arrest, due to the abuses of the Japanese, the remaining members, headed by
Vicente Lava, conducted a conference and formed the resistance group, Hukbo ng Bayan
Laban sa mga Hapones or Hukbalahap. They also formed numerous Barrio
United Defense Corps (BUDSC) composed of five to twelve persons which imposed

4
Ligot, J. C. (1994). Communist insurgency in the Philippines.
https://calhoun.nps.edu/bitstream/handle/10945/30553/94Jun_Ligot.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y (3)
 JMJ Marist Brothers
Notre Dame of Marbel University
College of Arts and Sciences
Alunan Ave., City of Koronadal, South Cotabato

taxes on people to support the group. Offensive attacks were conducted by the Huks
which led to the death of about 150 reported casualties on the Japanese. However, due
to the arrest of some leaders, the Huks adopted guerrilla tactics, a retreat for defense.
After the Japanese occupation, the Huks continued with their armed revolt. Despite their
number and grit to fight, the mid-1950s weakened the Huks. Under the administration of
the late president Ramon Magsaysay, the leader of the Huks’, Luis Taruc, surrendered
which led to the surrender, or were arrested. In the year 1954, PKP abandoned the
revolution which led to the disbandment of the Huks.

Resurgence of Insurgencies

At the beginning of the 1960s, PKP was rebuilt. From employing guerrilla tactics
armed struggle, they shifted into a communist political and economic party. However,
Jose Maria Sison, organized the Kabataang Makabayan, a Maoist oriented youth group
within the PKP. Sison wanted to continue the armed revolution of the peasantry, following
Mao Zedong’s ideology. Under the regime of the late president Ferdinand Marcos, the re-
established Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) was formed on December 26,
1968, on the birthday of the Maoist proprietor. Sison was quick to reach two goals, (1)
bridging the youth and peasants, (2) converting nationalism into the communist ideology,
and support for the armed revolution. It was followed by the formation of the CPP’s military
arm, the New People’s Army on March 29, 1969, under the leadership of Bernabe
Buscayno, or Kumander Dante. By the 1970s, they had gathered enough members and
conducted violent demonstrations against their considered enemies of the people – US
imperialism, feudalism, and bureaucratic capitalism. The CPP-NPA was supported by
China, in which the government was able to impede the attempt of shipping 3,500 firearms
from China. One of their major actions against the government was the Plaza Miranda
bombing on August 21, 1971. While the PKP opposed the declaration of Martial Law by
President Marcos on September 21, 1972, the Maoist-oriented organization fuelled it,
 JMJ Marist Brothers
Notre Dame of Marbel University
College of Arts and Sciences
Alunan Ave., City of Koronadal, South Cotabato

planning to meet it with a people’s war. But it did not Sison’s expectations, the declaration
of Martial Law led to the arrest of its members, which heightened guerrilla movements.5

Peasant Dialectic

The CPP-NPA aimed to correct what the PKP was lacking. On the other hand,
since the Maoist formation in 1968, PKP distinguished itself from the CPP-NPA to avoid
being dragged into the attacks caused by the latter. The PKP stands with their belief in
the Marxism-Leninism ideology, but with a peaceful political path in the name of the
peasantry. However, the CPP-NPA pushes forward the peasant-led armed revolution, to
destroy and isolate the government. The National Democratic Front (NDF), CPP’s political
wing presented its concrete twelve point objectives which are: (1) to unite the Filipino
people to overthrow the tyrannical rule of U.S. imperialism and local reactionaries; (2) to
wage a people’s war to win total, nationwide victory; (3) establish a democratic coalition
government and a people’s democratic republic; (4) to integrate the revolutionary armed
forces into a single national revolutionary army; (5) uphold and promote the free exercise
of the people’s democratic right; (6) terminate all unequal relations with the United States
and other foreign entities; (7) to complete the process of genuine land reform, raise rural
production through cooperation, and modernize production; (8) carry out national
industrialization as the leading factor in economic development; (9) guarantee the right
to employment, raise the people’s living standards, and expand social services; (10)
promote a patriotic, scientific and popular culture and ensure free public education; (11)
to respect and foster the self-determination of the Moro and Cordillera people and all
ethnic minorities; and (12) to adopt and practice a revolutionary, independent, and
peaceloving foreign policy. 6

5
A short history of the Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas (January 2018) retrieved on Ocotber 24, 2021 from
https://www.marxists.org/history/philippines/pkp-1930/2018/short-history.htm
6
Rabasa, A., Gordon, J., Chalk, P., Grant, A. K., McMahon, K. S., Pezard, S., Reilly, C., Ucko, D., &
Zimmerman, S. R. (2011). The Philippines. In From Insurgency to Stability: Volume II: Insights from Selected
Case Studies (pp. 9–40). RAND Corporation. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7249/mg1111-2osd.10
 JMJ Marist Brothers
Notre Dame of Marbel University
College of Arts and Sciences
Alunan Ave., City of Koronadal, South Cotabato

Counterinsurgencies

From the foundation of the communist movement in 1968, different administrations

aimed to extinguish the insurgencies. The government’s first strategy was the deployment
of the Armed Forces of the Philippines into the countryside, which was later proved to be
ineffective. During the Martial Law, was the adaptation of a new counterinsurgency
strategy which aimed to get the support of the people through its Letter of Instructions
(LOI) of KATATAGAN. They started preventing insurgencies from its root – by getting the
people on their side to discourage them from joining and supporting the CPP-NPA. This
idea was adopted from the American concept of fighting guerrilla warfare against the Huks
during the Magsaysay administration. Under the presidency of Corazon Aquino, they
aimed for the unification of the government and the communist group. However, it
continued with its imperialist ideology and privatization of the economic sector. The late
President Fidel Ramos legalized the CPP and created the National Unification
Commission in initiating the peace process. The CPP-NPA weakened until 1988, with the
reduction of its members, firearms, and support. The spirit of democracy in the
overthrowing of Marcos, the presidency of people’s favorite Corazon Aquino, and the
CPP-NPAs boycotting of 1986 elections, they lost their support from the people.

Conclusion

The condition of the Filipino people from the abuses they went through under the
Spaniards, Americans, and Japanese paved the way for the growth of communist
insurgency in the country. CPP-NPA might have won the people’s support at the
beginning, but they failed to cause any meaningful victory to the people. The government
might have succeeded in causing the decline of members and supporters of CPP-NPA,
but they were never able to deal with its main roots which are the economic disparities in
the country and the injustices. Different departments and sectors should have a role in
the counterinsurgency process and strengthen their machinery. The AFPs also needs to
revisit their strategies such as neutralizing the insurgencies and not just attacking the
guerrilla fronts. The local government units should take a closer look in their
counterinsurgency strategies and review their existing policies especially regarding
 JMJ Marist Brothers
Notre Dame of Marbel University
College of Arts and Sciences
Alunan Ave., City of Koronadal, South Cotabato

agrarian reform. The trust and cooperation of the people should be won by the
government, and this can be done by implementing laws and policies for the general
public welfare. By targeting its root cause and concentrating intelligence and combat
operations in clearing the countryside, will weaken the communist group.

References

A short history of the Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas (January 2018) retrieved on

Ocotber 24, 2021 from https://www.marxists.org/history/philippines/pkp-
1930/2018/short-history.htm

Abinales, P. N. (2012). The Philippines: students, activists, and communists in

movement politics. in m. l. weiss & e. aspinall (Eds.), Student Activism in Asia: Between
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http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5749/j.ctttv18p.15

Devesa, R. (1985). An assessment of the Philippine counterinsurgency operational

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https://calhoun.nps.edu/bitstream/handle/10945/30553/94Jun_Ligot.pdf?sequence=1&is
Allowed=y (iii)

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army.” Stanford University. Last modified August 2018.
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 JMJ Marist Brothers
Notre Dame of Marbel University
College of Arts and Sciences
Alunan Ave., City of Koronadal, South Cotabato

Rabasa, A., Gordon, J., Chalk, P., Grant, A. K., McMahon, K. S., Pezard, S., Reilly, C.,
Ucko, D., & Zimmerman, S. R. (2011). The Philippines. In From Insurgency to Stability:
Volume II: Insights from Selected Case Studies (pp. 9–40). RAND Corporation.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7249/mg1111-2osd.10

van der Kroef, J. M. (1973). Communism and Reform in the Philippines. Pacific
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