Can Philippine opposition defeat U.S.-Marcos alliance?

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"Genuine democracy will require Marcos' overthrow, and a new form of government based on the people's mass organizations."

'SIC) € MILITARY TERRORI 16 SOCIALIST ACTI ON JANUARY 1986 By The following is the second of a twopart series on the revolutionary struggle in the Philippines.

On the eve of the deadline for filing for the Feb. 7, 1986, Philippine presidential elections, the anti-Marcos but pro-capitalist opposition has shakily united behind Corazon "Cory" Aquino, wife of the assassinated senator, and Salvador "Doy" Laurel of the United Nationalist Democratic Opposition (UNIDO). As the price of unity, Aquino has agreed to run as the standard bearer for UNIDO, which is the most pro-U.S. wing of the antiMarcos opposition.

Coming on the heels of the acquittal of Gen. Fabian Ver and others for the assassination of Benigno Aquino, the upcoming rigged elections will only further discredit the Marcos dictatorship. Yet rigged or not, the February poll will be seen by many Filipinos as a plebiscite on the regime.

Still, the patchwork electoral unity achieved between Aquino and Laurel barely conceals the lack of consensus among the capitalist opposition as to how to resolve the deepening Philippine political and social crisis.

Earlier compromises have broken down over how far the Philippines could or should distance itself from the United States. This was concretized in the attitude oppositionists took toward the U.S. military bases and the legalization of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). [For background on the CPP, see part one of this article in the December 1985 issue of Socialist Action.] Two years after the massive demonstrations that followed the assassination of Benigno Aquino, the "parliament of the streets"-uniting workers, dispossessed peasants, church groups, and middle layers—continues to rear its head. Despite continuing repression, 100,000 demonstrators in various cities mobilized on Aug. 21, 1985, the anniversary of Aquino's murder, and again on Sept. 22, the 13th anniversary of the declaration of martial law.

The anti-imperialist slogan of "Down With the U.S.-Marcos Dictatorship," put forward by the CPP-led National Democratic Front (NDF) has begun to predominate over demands simply for the removal of the dictator. The more radical sections of the movement have organized "people's strikes," which are reminiscent of the general strikes organized in Nicaragua shortly after the murder of Pedro Joaquin Chamorro in 1978.

These developments show both the depth of the political crisis for Philippine OF THE PEOPLE!.

capital, as well as the lingering illusions existing among the urban population toward the liberal democrats appearing at the head of the opposition.

UNIDO wants U.S. bases On the right wing of the opposition lies UNIDO, a coalition of parties led by Laurel, who broke from Marcos a few years ago. Laurel appears to have the backing of a section of the Philippine Wall Street, which is justifiably concerned about the long-range interests of Philippine capital.

Laurel has also gotten a nod from the United States, which had covertly encouraged an Aquino-Laurel slate in the coming elections. UNIDO, after all, has consistently opposed the removal of U.S. bases from the Philippines, while Aquino commands much respect in the mass Cory Aquino and Agapito "Butz" Aquino (brother of the assassinated senator), occupy the right and left ends of the opposition center, a center also filled by the Liberal Party, a holdover from preMarcos days, and the Philippine Democratic Party-Laban, a Christian Democratic-type formation.

The two Aquinos split over whether or not to boycott the May 1984 elections to the powerless Philippine parliament. Cory Aquino, the Liberal Party, and PDPLaban chose participation, while Butz Slobe and Mail/ Toronto Aquino opted for a boycott ani i was a proponent of mass demonstral ions against the regime.

Today, Butz Aquino heads the Filipino Social Democratic Movement and a center coalition called BANDILA.

BANDILA broke from the left wing of the opposition, today found in BAYAN, a coalition established in May 1985. BANDILA. split because BAYAN was more and more influenced by the underground National Democratic Front, which is based among the working class and slumdwellers' organizations.

BAYAN's most important component is the KMU-May First Movement, a labor federation established in 1980 that has a membership of some 250,000 unionists.

Opposition programs

All components of the above-ground opposition call for Marcos' removal, but they disagree over how that can be accomplished and what other tasks must be performed by a post-Marcos government.

UNIDO's program contains references to land reform and democracy, but essentially stands for a return to the pre-1972 status quo, an end to the economic advantages of the Marcos clique, and no fundamental change in the country's relations with the United States.

BAYAN's program states that Marcos can only be removed by the Filipino people alone, without reliance on the United States. BAYAN calls for the dismantlement of "all authoritarian struc -tures" of the regime, the expulsion of U.S. bases, and the abrogation of unequal treaties with the United States. It demands what amounts to the expropriation of Marcos and his cronies, the repudiation of foreign debts that "have not benefited the people," land reform, and the defense of workers' rights to a job and to organize.

Most importantly, UNIDO and BAYAN diverge in action. UNIDO's orientation is toward elections, with the United States putting pressure on Marcos to peacefully step aside. BAYAN has thus far relied on mass mobilizations and the "parliament of the streets" to make its point.

Since the elections are seen by many as an opportunity to express opposition to the Marcos regime, BAYAN and its constituent formations will be under pressure to support the moderate AquinoLaurel electoral slate. Whether BAYAN will succumb, run its own candidates, or call for a boycott, as its predecessors did in 1984, is difficult to say at this time.

BAYAN's actions and political positions have thus far made it (and the NDF) a legitimate anti-imperialist pole reflecting the aspirations of the masses. But there currently exists no revolutionary organization which clearly understands the need to drive home within BAYAN the strategic conclusion that the democratic tasks set forth in its program can only be solved through the seizure of power by the workers and peasants.

Hence the danger arises that BAYAN's middle-class leadership could bend to the clamor for anti-Marcos unity on a capitalist reform program.

For its part, the CPP has drifted away from Maoism. And while retaining the schema of the bloc of four classes, a stagist-theory of revolution, and the strategy of people's war based on the peasantry, it has begun to recognize the importance of the urban struggle.

By the CIA's estimate, the CPP is three years away from encircling and "liberating" the cities. But as made clear by fallout from the Aquino assassination, the political center of gravity lies in the urban areas. Whether the CPP can push further its reorientation to the cities, and whether it can overcome the handicaps imposed by its program, are key questions.

Tasks of the revolution The Philippines today are at an early stage of revolutionary development. A revolutionary-democratic consciousness is spreading among the people, who will more and more find themselves opposed not only to the Marcos regime, but to opposition groups like UNIDO, who seek only to reform the system rather than overthrow it.

The continued development of an independent mass movement and the parallel successes of the NPA in the countryside will ultimately force the opposition bourgeoisie to go over to the counterrevolution for fear of the people.

Yet the central-though thor -ny-problem lies precisely in ensuring the political independence of the workers, peasants, and urban poor in conditions where nationalism and the fight against dictatorship obscure the underlying class struggle.

The early Communist International advocated building "anti-imperialist united fronts" to bridge this contradiction. It was imperative that revolutionaries use this tactic to place themselves at the head of mass mobilizations around democratic and anti-imperialist struggles in order to (continued on page 14, in “[but was reverting to a nihilistic Buddhist philosophy…]”)