<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8">
</head>
<body bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000">
<div id="container" class="container font-size5">
<div style="display: block;" id="reader-header" class="header"> <font
size="-2"><a
href="http://www.telesurtv.net/english/opinion/Coups-and-Other-Tests-for-the-Philippines-New-Leftist-Leader-20160510-0012.html"
id="reader-domain" class="domain"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.telesurtv.net/english/opinion/Coups-and-Other-Tests-for-the-Philippines-New-Leftist-Leader-20160510-0012.html">http://www.telesurtv.net/english/opinion/Coups-and-Other-Tests-for-the-Philippines-New-Leftist-Leader-20160510-0012.html</a></a></font>
<h1 id="reader-title">Coups and Other Tests for the Philippines'
New "Leftist" Leader</h1>
</div>
<div class="content">
<div style="display: block;" id="moz-reader-content">
<div
xml:base="http://www.telesurtv.net/english/opinion/Coups-and-Other-Tests-for-the-Philippines-New-Leftist-Leader-20160510-0012.html"
id="readability-page-1" class="page">
<p itemprop="description alternativeHeadline"
class="subtitle"><span class="itacaput"><a style="width:
auto" class="her" alt="Prof. Jose Maria Sison"
title="Prof. Jose Maria Sison">Prof. Jose Maria Sison
May 10, 2016<br>
</a></span></p>
<p itemprop="description alternativeHeadline"
class="subtitle"><span class="itacaput"><a style="width:
auto" class="her" alt="Prof. Jose Maria Sison"
title="Prof. Jose Maria Sison"></a></span>The
newly-elected Philippine president, who promises to be the
country's first left president, studied Political Thought
under the author of this article.</p>
<div itemprop="articleBody" class="txt_newworld">
<p>Within 24 hours after the Philippine elections closed
at 5 p.m. of May 9, Rodrigo Duterte of the opposition
Pilipino-Democratic Party-Laban registered in the
automated vote count of the Commission on Elections a
landslide victory in his bid for the Philippine
presidency. His rivals Grace Poe of the Independent
Party, Jejomar Binay of the United Nationalist Alliance
and Mar Roxas of the ruling Liberal Party conceded
defeat one after the other. </p>
<p>What was widely feared as a scheme of the ruling
Liberal Party to cheat did not materialize or could not
be carried out because of serious warnings of popular
uprising against electoral fraud. Those that issued
warnings included respected institutions and movements,
all opposition parties, critical sections of the
reactionary armed forces and police, the revolutionary
forces of the Communist Party of the Philippines, the
New People's Army and the National Democratic Front of
the Philippines and the Bangsamoro national liberation
movements. </p>
<p>Apparently foreign monopoly interests and the local
oligarchy of big compradors and landlords have advised
the Aquino government that it was a better choice to
desist from electoral fraud and avoid the risk of
widespread and uncontrollable civil strife. They are
confident that a Duterte presidency would still be
financially and politically manageable by using as lever
the underdevelopment and poverty of the Philippines and
the huge foreign debt and total public debt of the
Philippines, amounting to more than US$77 billion and
Php 164 trillion, respectively. </p>
<p>One notable result of the elections is the defeat of
the junior of the late Filipino dictator, Ferdinand E.
Marcos, in his bid for the vice presidency. For a while,
it seemed that he would succeed by riding on the protest
vote against the corrupt, brutal and incompetent Aquino
regime. But he has been defeated by the vice
presidential candidate of the Liberal Party, Leni
Robredo, who strongly reminded the electorate of the
brutality of the Marcos dictatorship and the complicity
of Marcos junior in stashing away the billions of
dollars stolen by his father from the people. </p>
<p>The significance of the electoral victory of Leni
Robredo goes beyond stopping on its track the drive of
the Marcos dynasty to take back supreme political power
in the Philippines. She is expected by the Liberal Party
to serve as a check on Duterte and a constant reminder
of his vulnerability to a coup or to impeachment by a
House of Representatives and Senate still dominated by
the Liberal Party. But of course Duterte is well aware
of his own share of retired and active military and
police officers and the opportunism of congressmen and
senators who traditionally switch loyalty to a new
president. </p>
<p>Because of his overwhelming electoral victory, Duterte
is expected to win further popular support by carrying
out his campaign pledge to punish corrupt officials and
wipe out criminality, especially the syndicates engaged
in the trade of prohibited drugs and in kidnapping for
ransom. The broad masses of the people are eagerly
awaiting the arrest and imprisonment of the outgoing
President Benigno S. Aquino and his budget mastermind,
Florencio Abad, who have become notorious for committing
plunder and unprecedented corruption in the abuse of the
pork barrel system. </p>
<p>The revolutionary movement of the people led by the
Communist Party of the Philippines or CPP supports the
determination of Duterte to fight corruption and
criminality and welcomes his vow to declare a ceasefire
with the armed revolutionary movement and be the first
left president in the history of the Philippines. In
this regard, the CPP has urged him to free the hundreds
of political prisoners, accelerate the peace
negotiations and address the roots of the civil war by
adopting basic economic, social and political reforms. </p>
<p>The newly-elected president takes pride in having been
a student of the CPP founding Chairman in Political
Thought at the Lyceum of the Philippines in the late
1960s, in becoming an activist of the anti-imperialist
and anti-feudal youth organization, Kabataang Makabayan,
and in being a long time adherent of the New Patriotic
Alliance known as BAYAN. Both Kabataang Makabayan and
BAYAN have been fierce opponents of the Marcos fascist
dictatorship and the continuing domination of the
Philippines by foreign monopoly capitalism, feudalism
and bureaucrat capitalism. </p>
<p>The CPP has challenged Duterte to assert the national
sovereignty of the Filipino people and defend the
territorial integrity of the Philippines, to let the
toiling masses of workers and peasants empower
themselves against the oligarchs, to develop the
Philippine economy through national industrialization
and genuine land reform, to promote a patriotic and
progressive culture and expand the public school system
and foster international solidarity for peace and
development. </p>
<p><em>Prof. Jose Maria Sison is Chairperson of the
International League of Peoples' Struggle and Chief
Political Consultant of the National Democratic Front
of the Philippines.</em> </p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div> </div>
</div>
<div class="moz-signature">-- <br>
Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
415 863.9977
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.freedomarchives.org">www.freedomarchives.org</a>
</div>
</body>
</html>