M.I.A. | History Section | Philippines
History Archive for Philippine Socialism
Table of Contents
Anti-infiltration purge campaign
Second Great Rectification and the schism
Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawa–Pilipinas
Other socialist groups and Post-CPP Tendencies
Philippine Author Archives
Filemon “Popoy” Lagman Archive: English | Tagalog
Jose Maria “Joma” Sison Archive: English
Philippine Periodicals Archive
Liberation:
1972–1996
Published by the National Democratic Front of The Phillipines
Rebolusyon:
1990–1997 (English Edition)
Theoretical and Political Journal of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Phillipines
Early Philippine Socialism
Returning Filipino exile Isabelo de los Reyes brought socialism to the Philippines by bringing along socialist, anarchist, and Marxist literature. Two books from this collection — Entre Campesinos and Vida e Obras de Carlos Marx — were used as founding principles for the first labor federation in the country, the Union Obrera Democratica (UOD; Democratic Workers Union).
1906: Excerpt from Banaag at Sikat by Lope K. Santos
Tagalog language novel with socialist themes. Known as the “Bible of working class Filipinos.” Lope K. Santos was a leader of the UOD and its successors.
1913: Dalawang Magbubukid by Errico Malatesta
1913 Tagalog translation of Errico Malatesta's best selling pamphlet Between Peasants and translated from the Spanish translation entitled Entre Campesinos.
The Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas and the Huks
In 1930, the COMINTERN-aligned and Marxist-Leninist Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas (PKP-1930; Communist Party of the Philippines) was founded with Crisanto A. Evangelista its first general secretary. In 1942, the PKP-1930 founded the Hukbo ng Bayan Laban sa Hapon (HUKBALAHAP; People's Anti-Japanese Army; nicknamed “Huk”, plural denonym: “Huks”) to combat the Japanese invaders via guerrilla warfare. After the war, anti-communist violence by the post-independence Philippine regime resulted in a resumption of guerrilla warfare by the Huks who were renamed to the Hukbong Magpapalaya ng Bayan (HMB; People's Liberation Army). To differentiate itself from the younger Communist Party of the Philippines, the PKP-1930 appends “1930” to its abbreviation.
1946: Preamble to Constitution of the Communist Party of the Philippines by the PKP-1930
1950: Preamble to Constitution and By-Laws of the Hukbong Mapagpalaya ng Bayan by the HMB, the armed wing of the PKP-1930
1950: Establish underground local governments as organs of power and struggle to overthrow imperialist-puppet rule by the PKP-1930
1963: Handbook on the Land Reform Code by Lapiang Manggagawa
A handbook produced by one of the peasant fronts of the PKP-1930.
2018: A Short History of the Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas by the PKP-1930
2018: Some Notes on the History of the PKP-1930 by the PKP-1930
A timeline of the PKP-1930 from 1930 to 2013.
Radical student movement and the First Quarter Storm
The late 1960s and early 1970s saw an upsurge in student militancy that led to a climax known as the First Quarter Storm (FQS) in the early 1970s. Prominent events during the FQS were the Battle of Mendiola where students fought with state security forces and the Diliman Commune where the students of the University of the Philippines–Diliman staged a spontaneous insurrection that lasted nine days.
1968: Down from the Hill by Jose Luis A. Alcuaz, Gerardo J. Esguerra, Emmanuel A. F. Lacaba, Leonardo Q. Montemayor and Alfredo N. Salanga.
A radical student manifesto from the Ateneo de Manila University. Some of the authors went to become guerrillas themselves.
1971: Bandilang Pula, the bulletin of the Diliman Commune.
Tagalog and English.
1971:
UPD Student Council Resolution on the Diliman Commune
.
A historic resolution passed by a student council drafted during a student uprising in the Diliman Commune.
Undated: UP Professor's View and Account of the Diliman Commune
The Communist Party of the Philippines and the New Peoples Army
Jose Maria “Joma” Sison led the “re-establishment” of the communist party in an event now known as the First Great Rectification. The new Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) was founded under principles of Marxist-Leninism-Mao Zedong Thought (MLMZT) which the Party would later change to Marxist-Leninist-Maoism (MLM). The New Peoples Army (NPA) was founded separately but later became the armed wing of the CPP. The CPP leads a united front called the National Democratic Front (NDF). When the CPP and its armed wing are discussed together, they are abbreviated as CPP-NPA. When the CPP, the NPA, and the NDF united front are discussed together, they are abbreviated as CPP-NPA-NDF or in an even more abbreviated form as C/N/N.
1968: Rectify Errors, Rebuild the Party by the Congress of Re-Establishment of the Communist Party of the Philippines.
A founding document of the CPP.
1968: Program for a People's Democratic Revolution by the Congress of Re-Establishment of the Communist Party of the Philippines.
A founding document of the CPP.
1970: Philippine Society and Revolution by Amado Guerrero.
Central theoretical document of National Democracy.
1975: Specific Characteristics of Our People's War by Simoun Riple.
Adopted as a “landmark” document of the Communist Party of the Philippines.
1975: Our Urgent Tasks by Amado Guerrero.
Adopted as a “landmark” document of the Communist Party of the Philippines.
1988: Brief Review of the History of the Communist Party of the Philippines by Armando Liwanag.
1991: Reaffirm Our Basic Principles by Armando Liwanag.
Adopted by the 10th Plenum of the Central Committee and a document associated with the Second Great Rectification and the Reaffirmist–Rejectionist Schism.
1992: Stand for Socialism Against Modern Revisionism by Armando Liwanag.
An anti-revisionist polemic.
1993: Marxism-Leninism-Mao Zedong Thought as Guide to the Philippine Revolution by Armando Liwanag.
“Anti-infiltration” purge campaign
In the 80s, the CPP and its armed wing the NPA led a series of “anti-infiltration” campaigns that led to the torture and deaths of hundreds of their cadres.
2003: Victims of Communist Party purge seek justice by Juan V. Sarmiento Jr.
2003: CPP purge victim recounts ordeal by Gil Navarro.
National Democracy
The political line of the CPP is known as “National Democracy.” National Democracy is divided into two general milieus, one underground and the other aboveground. The National Democratic Front (NDF) is revolutionary, illegal, and underground. The aboveground National Democratic groups are known as National Democratic Mass Organizations (NDMOs). Aboveground NDMOs share the political line of National Democracy with the CPP though are not officially affiliated with the CPP.
National Democratic Front:
1998: The Question of Peace by the National Democratic Front.
2010: The Twelve Points of the NDF Program by the National Democratic Front.
Second Great Rectification and the Reaffirmist–Rejectionist Schism
The Second Great Rectification was an anti-revisonist movement within the CPP. The central document of the movement is “Reaffirm.” Those who agreed with “Reaffirm” were referred to as “Reaffirmists” (sometimes “RAs”) while those who rejected it and split with the party are referred to as “Rejectionists” or “RJs”.
Reaffirmist:
1991: Reaffirm Our Basic Principles by Armando Liwanag.
The central document in the Second Great Rectification and the Reaffirmist–Rejectionist Schism and is abbreviated as “Reaffirm.”
1992: Stand for Socialism Against Modern Revisionism by Armando Liwanag.
An anti-revisionist polemic.
Rejectionist:
1992: Resist Authoritarian Tendencies within the Party! Let a Thousand schools of Thought Contend by “Ka Barry.”
Critical comments on the Paper “Reaffirm our Basic Principles and Rectify Errors” by Armando Liwanag calling for more democracy inside the CPP and called for a new Party congress. This party congress did not take place.
1994: Counter-Theses by Filemon “Popoy” Lagman.
A Marxist-Leninist polemic against the political positions of the CPP. A widely influential document for the Rejectionist tendencies.
1994: PSR: The Semifeudal Alibi for Protracted War by Filemon “Popoy” Lagman.
A critique of Joma Sison's book (under the nom de guerre “Amado Guerrero”) Philippine Society and Revolution, which characterized Philippine society's mode of production as semi-feudal and semi-colonial.
1994: PPDR: Class Line Vs. Mass Line by Filemon “Popoy” Lagman.
A critique of the CPP's “People's Program for a Democratic Revolution,” which laid down its standpoint on the bourgeois democratic revolution and the agrarian question.
1994: PPW: A New-Type Revolution of the Wrong Type by Filemon “Popoy” Lagman.
A critique of Joma Sison's dogma of the armed struggle as the primary form of struggle for the Filipino proletariat, a review of Chinese society and history
Commentary:
1994: Debates on the Philippine Left by John Gershman.
An outsider's view on the Philippine Left.
1999: The Great Left Divide by Alecks P. Pabico.
A investigative journalist study of the Reaffirmist–Rejectionist Schism.
Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawa–Pilipinas
The Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawa–Pilipinas (RPM-P; Revolutionary Workers Party–Philippines) emerged as a Rejectionist faction in the Second Great Rectification and was formally established on May 1, 1998. The RPM-P affirms Marxist-Leninism over Maoism and rejects the notion of a protracted people's war.
1998: Program of the Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawa–Philippines.
An English translation of the 1998 RPM-P program.
2001: Brief Profile of the Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawa–Philippines.
A profile of the RPM-P in their own words.
2001: History.
Tagalog. An account of the party's history.
Other socialist groups and Post-CPP tendencies
This section collects socialist literature from other socialist groups outside the CPP. There were multiple groups and personalities that split from the CPP with the most prominent are the so-called Rejectionists though others also left the party for Social Democracy, Green ideology, and ethnic-based movements.
Bukluran sa Ikauunlad ng Sosyalistang Isip at Gawa (BISIG):
1987: The Socialist Vision by BISIG.
A democratic socialist manifesto for the Philippines.
90s?: What is BISIG? by BISIG.
BISIG describes themselves in their own words and lay down their objectives as a non-vanguardist, open, above-ground mass organization.
Partido ng Manggagawang Pilipino (PMP):
90s: Theses by Filemon “Popoy” Lagman.
Tagalog. Popoy Lagman's theses for the construction of a new party and revolutionary strategy.
1999: Workers Manifesto for the New Millennium by Filemon “Popoy” Lagman.
A manifesto written for the Partido ng Manggagawang Pilipino.
Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawa–Mindanao:
In 2001, RPM-P cadre from Mindanao split to form the Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawa–Mindanao (RPM-M; Revolutionary Workers Party–Mindanao) and would later join the reunifed Fourth International.