CPP-NPA Concept and Strategy

One might ask: what does the CPP hope to achieve? The simple, but incomplete, answer is that it advocates for reform through new leadership in government. This answer lacks nuance because the CPP does not claim monopoly on reform and a nation’s greater good. So how does the CPP differ from well-meaning activists who fight for reforms within the bounds of established legal laws?

Victor explained that, like well-meaning activists, the CPP members do want to ease the suffering of their fellow citizens burdened by rising prices of fuel, or the everyday consumers who struggle to stretch their peso every time the prices of basic commodities rise, or the farmers who continue to till their lands without the hope of genuine agrarian reform. But while many good-intentioned activists call for reform through legal means, the CPP’s direction is through the destruction of the status quo through violent means.

“Hindi kami kuntento na manatili ang status quo. Kapag sinabi naming socialism, lahat ng mga lupain, makinarya, pabrika, at industriya ay kokontrolin dapat ng mamamayan sa pamamagitan ng kanyang gobyerno at hindi ‘yan mangyayari kung ang gobyerno ay hindi mo papalitan. Doon nag-iiba sa perspective [We are not content with maintaining the status quo. Under socialism, all land, machinery, factors of production should be controlled by the masses through the government, and that will not happen if you don’t change the government. That’s where our perspective differs],” Victor said.

In short, communists don’t just want reform – they want to overthrow the government and replace it with an entirely different system.

--THE WARS WITHIN (2020 / Copy&Share)

CPP-NPA-NDF's Labor Sector Operations

Above are the CPP-NPA-NDF revolutionary labor movement and the trade or labor unions and how they are used by the CPP-NPA-NDF to support their armed struggle in the countryside in order to advance their national democratic revolution (NDR). This is part of the lecture presentation on “Rebolusyonaryong Kilusang Masa sa Kalunsuran” recovered in an encounter between government forces and the NPA in Milagros, Masbate in November 2019.  

As part of their operations both inside and outside the law, the CPP’s organizers and activists work in progressive organizations targeting specific sectors. In the labor sector, a major aboveground organization is the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), which has created for itself an image of a champion for the rights of the working class.

But, as Liwanag et al. (2009) explored in their book, the KMU’s principal objective is to “organize and orchestrate legal and open mass struggles among workers through demonstrations, mass actions and nationwide strikes using regional and national political issues”. By infiltrating local and regional labor unions, they turn the members into radicalized and militant workers. The aim is to wreak havoc on the economy and impede growth through work stoppages and walkouts of laborers. In 2019, the issue of labor contractualization dominated news headlines, with various labor groups – including those under the banner of Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) – protesting unfair labor practices through factory strikes and worker demonstrations.

According to Liwanag et al (2009), the general objectives of the CPP in the labor sector are as follows:

1. Weaken the economic base of the country through economic and political crises that would create the triggering conditions for a revolution
   
2. Weaken regional economic centers by crippling major industries
   
3. Paralyze operations of agro-industrial sectors to stir dissatisfaction among the working class
   
4. Use collective bargaining agreements to challenge economic authorities
   
5. Arouse, organize and mobilize related activities to exploit legitimate issues and stir unrest 
   
   
   
   --THE WARS WITHIN (2020 / Copy&Share)
   
   

Leave Your Family

Photo from captured enemy-documents

“Noong pumasok ako, ang palaging tinatandaan ko na salita ay remold, remold, remold. Ang ibig sabihin ay baguhin mo ang mindset mo. Baguhin mo ang sarili mo. Lumubog ka sa masa at doon ka pumunta. Iwan mo ang pamilya mo. Iwan mo ang sarili mo. Iwan mo ang anak mo, ang tatay at nanay mo. Doon ka mamuhay kasi ayon ang tunay na rebolusyon [When I entered the CPP, the word I constantly remembered was ‘remold, remold, remold.’ It meant that one should change his or her mindset. Change yourself. Embed yourself with the masses, go where they are. Leave your family, leave yourself behind. Leave your child, your father, your mother. Live amongst the masses because it is there that you find the true revolution],” Victor emphasized.

--THE WARS WITHIN (2020 / Copy&Share) 

Stages of Communists' Recruitment Process

Pictures of two young female NPA members from documents of two top ranking leaders of the CPP-NPA-NDF operating in Metro Manila, who were arrested in October 2019. They were among the instructors of the PADEPA. Just like Victor, these young women started as youth activists but were eventually recruited to become NPA members. Sadly, they were both killed in an encounter with government forces. (Source: Captured enemy-documents) 

For the general public, the difference between the Communist Party of the Philippines, the New People’s Army, and the swath of front organizations may be confusing. These organizational structures are designed to be complex so that even some members don’t really understand the dynamics of the different organizations.

“There is no direct recruit by the CPP in the urban mass movement to become a CPP member. You have to pass through the following: first stage is membership to a legal organization, second stage is through the underground mass organizations, and the third stage is you become a Party candidate-member. There is no shortcut. The wisdom of the process is to really filter the potential and worthy candidates from those who are not, and of course for security of the Party also. All these are being done by the CPP organizers, cadres, who are also operating as officers of that legal organization. That is why the recruitment process is done within the organization itself rather than from the outside. There are different layers of recruitment cover that is why it is highly deceptive,” Victor revealed. 

--THE WARS WITHIN (2020 / Copy&Share)

Student Leader Turned CPP-NPA-NDF Cadre

Duty of Youth/Student Revolutionary Movement. Screengrab of a document recovered from the CPP-NPA-NDF hideout in Cuyapo, Nueva Ecija on September 2018. It describes the role of the youth/student revolutionary movement in organizing for the CPP-NPA-NDF. (Source: Captured enemy-documents)  

How did a promising young student leader like Victor ended up getting recruited into a communist organization?

In his growing up years, Victor barely saw his mother because she was busy working hard for the family. This, Victor mused, was perhaps one reason why he had been so susceptible to recruitment – the CPP’s charismatic recruiters had made him feel like he belonged. The CPP knew that the youth who did not have close relationships with their families would be looking for kinship elsewhere – and that was a gap the CPP could meet.

As Victor puts it, “We tend to give families, a sort of haven, to young people for them to believe they have a new family so that we can win their trust... Noong bata ako inaakala ko na pamilya ko sila kasi 24/7 nakakausap ko sila. [When I was young I thought they were my family because I could talk to them 24/7]. You find another sense of belongingness with them. Iyon ang nangyari sa buhay ko, I found belongingness with them. Pagod ang nanay ko, hindi ko siya makausap, hindi naman ako pala-barkada. Naging malayo kami emotionally sa isa’t isa [My mother was tired, I could not speak with her, I wasn’t the type of person to go out a lot with friends. We became distant emotionally to each other]. I found new friends [in them].”

This, Victor later learned, was a key tactic in recruitment and organizing, a skill which he later used in his involvement with the CPP.

“The best approach in mass work is to create a sense of belongingness with your target. Pagkakita pa lang sayo ng NPA kakamayan ka na agad at kakamustahin. Kaya kahit pa noong estudyante kami ganoon na talaga, "’Nanay, Tatay, magandang gabi po! Naibabalik 'yung pagpapahalaga at init ng human relationship [When an NPA member sees you, they’ll immediately shake hands with you and greet you. Even when we were students, it was like that. ‘Mother, father, good evening!’ They bring back the value and warmth of human relationship].” 

--THE WARS WITHIN (2020 / Copy&Share)

What is Kabataang Makabayan (KM)?

What is Kabataang Makabayan? Screengrab of a document recovered from a CPP-NPA-NDF hideout in Cuyapo, Nueva Ecija on September 2018. It describes what is Kabataang Makabayan (KM) and its objectives. (Source: Captured enemy-documents)

“The KM is the backbone of the underground movement in the Youth Sector, it is where the armed struggle starts to be introduced to the youth recruits. Because there are two underground components in the urban mass movement: the underground mass organization (UGMO), and the Party (CPP) recruitment. Essentially, the potential recruit is recruited twice. The UGMO is the backbone of urban mass movement. Ang point ko lang is very simple: hindi malaking problema ang pagkakaroon ng mga legal na mga aktibista na yan, ang nagiging problema dahil CPP ang nagtatayo ay CPP rin ang nag-iinfiltrate ang kanyang UGMO component at party leader kasi ang UGMO is the start of introduction to you to the armed struggle [My point is very simple: the problem is not about having activists but on having the CPP established organizations that are used as covers for their UGMOs which introduce members of their organization to armed struggle]. Hence, the Party-building is the recruit’s focused and deliberate consolidation to a deeper ideological component leading to armed struggle,” Victor revealed.

--THE WARS WITHIN (2020 / Copy&Share)  

Exploitation of Social Issues

Screengrab of a PowerPoint presentation recovered from a top ranking member of the CPP-NPA-NDF who was arrested in 2019. The presentation details the plans of KADAMAY, a CPP-established organization, pertaining to the plight of the urban poor and informal setlers. As discussed by Ka Victor on the previous page, the CPP-NPA-NDF uses several tactics and strategies to lure urban poor communities into their trap and eventually use them in their propaganda and agitation against the government.The CPP established also Kalipunan ng Samahang Manggagawa at Mahihirap (KASAMA), which is an underground mass

organization inside KADAMAY.  (Source: Captured enemy-documents)

In fighting urban mass movements, Victor emphasized that the main misstep of the government is the woeful lack of counternarrative against the CPP’s tactics.

“For example, kapag nagsabi kami ng Rice Tariffication Law na kontra magsasaka at ito ay sisirain ang buong agrikultura at maapektuhan ang ating food security, hindi mo pa naririnig ang DA [Department of Agriculture] nagpapaliwanag nang maayos or ang NEDA [National Economic and Development Authority]. Isa pang halimbawa, pagdating sa issue ng mga demolition hindi mo naman naririnig ang NHA [National Housing Authority] para magpaliwanag or ang local government kung bakit may nangyaring demolition. Ang naririnig: marahas ang gobyerno, pinapaboran niya ang isa o ilang real estate developers, samantalang kawawa ang mga urban poor. Ang ganitong propaganda ay madaling tumatak sa isipan ng mga tao, lalo na sa mahihirap o mga nahihirapan sa buhay. Kaya dapat ay ipaliwanag maigi ng gobyerno ang mga makataong programa nito [For example, when we say that the Rice Tariffication Law is anti-farmer and that it destroys Philippine agriculture and the food industry, you don’t hear the DA explain the issue properly nor NEDA. Another example, when it comes to issues of demolition, you don’t hear the NHA or the local government explain why the demolitions take place. What is heard is that the government is cruel, that it favors one or a few real estate developers, while the urban poor are left to suffer. Propaganda like this stick easily to the minds of the people, especially to those who are poor or those experiencing hardships in life. The government therefore must clearly explain also its programs that are beneficial to the people],” he explained. 

The problem, Victor said, was that the government does not craft a good enough narrative to counter the emotional logic of the CPP’s statements. Without an explanation from the government that is timely, sincere, and emotionally attuned to the people’s frustrations, what gets communicated is this: “Kaya ang interpretasyon, ang government ay oppressor of the people, ang government ay abusado sa tao [The interpretation of the government is that it is the people’s oppressor, an abusive entity].” 

--THE WARS WITHIN (2020 / Copy&Share)

Source of NPA's Recruits

Photo from captured enemy-documents.

As Liwanag et al. (2009) noted, the CPP has transformed from being a communist party to a terrorist organization with the ultimate goal of seizing power and resources by whatever means necessary. They use the cover of law and the concept of human rights to protect themselves but yet they commit the most violent of atrocities.

“Nothing’s changed. The CPP wants to strengthen the NPA because without the NPA, they cannot seize political power. They can only strengthen the NPA if they can develop a wide and deep mass base. That’s why they focus on organizing and planning,” Victor noted.

He added: “The most important thing for the CPP right now is to develop a deep and broad, thorough mass base so they can produce more cadres, more organizers, more political officers, more activists, while ultimately leads to more recruitment for the NPA.” 

--THE WARS WITHIN (2020 / Copy&Share)

Poverty is Not the Cause of Insurgency

“Hindi tama ang pananaw na ang root cause ng communist insurgency ay kahirapan. Ang kahirapan ay gatong. Hindi spontaneous at random ang pagkakaroon ng communist insurgency dahil may kahirapan, no. Nagsisimula ang communist insurgency dahil may nag-oorganisa, may nagtatanim at yan ay mga cadre [It is not correct to assume that the root cause of communist insurgency is poverty. Communist insurgency is not a random occurrence. It starts because there is somebody agitating, somebody is organizing, and they are the cadres]. What’s my point? Eliminate the cadres because they exploit the people and foment organized violence. The reality is even if there are valid socio-economic and political issues people would not resort to organized violence to resolve them. Ang hukbo na walang mga commander at walang ‘baseng masa’ magiging rebeldeng lagalag o hukbong bandido [An army that has no commander, or leader, and has no ‘mass base’ will surely become a lost army or an army of bandits].” Victor said.

“The urban mass movement, or the recruitment in the urban centers, is where the cancer of communism starts. Bakit kanser? Ang kanser ay hindi nakikita kaagad hanggang sa ito ay malala na. Hindi mo mararamdaman agad ang kanser sa simula because cancer is asymptomatic, wala siyang symptoms na madaling makita. Kaya ‘yun aming mga urban mass movement ay cancerous ‘yan. Harmless siya kunwari pero nagkukutkot siya ng napakalaking problema [Why cancer? You cannot easily detect cancer at the onset until it becomes malignant. Cancer is asymptomatic, there are no easily visible symptoms. It appears harmless but in reality, it steadily progresses into a huge problem],” Victor added. 

--THE WARS WITHIN (2020 / Copy&Share)

Crimes and Conscience

Photo from captured enemy-documents.

“At some point, when we realize all the wrongs we did, and are doing over the years, we feel the wars within ourselves. We learn to silence our conscience but one’s conscience doesn’t die. The guilt simply gets buried. Until such a time that we cannot take it anymore,” Victor said.

As Victor narrated (see Chapter 7), many cadres face the difficulty of reconciling their revolution against providing for the needs of their families. Because of the flow of monetary funds, for example, they see many are tempted to accept money direct from politicians and other people they get revolutionary taxes from. This becomes a potential source of corruption for many.

“It’s easy for those who hold resources to access them when they need to. But when other units request for funds, the response is slow. The party is no different from the government. There are people who steal money in the millions. These people are usually killed. I personally know three who were killed because they stole CPP funds,” Victor said. 

--THE WARS WITHIN (2020 / Copy&Share)

Strong Family Ties Matter

Photo from captured enemy-documents.

Beyond the need for resources, is the struggle of knowing that you are affecting other people’s lives negatively. For Victor, it’s the student recruitment that haunts him. He knows, when he was still recruiting, that he is sending some of the children to die. The CPP, he adds, takes advantage of weak family ties.

“When there is a social gap in the life of a young person, they become vulnerable for any recruitment. A major social gap nowadays is the family. If the parents and children don’t talk and interact enough, and if the former are very liberal, that’s when they become vulnerable,” Victor noted. 

--THE WARS WITHIN (2020 / Copy&Share)

Underground Mass Organizations

Countryside Exposure. The document shows the objectives of basic masses integration for their exposure in the 
countryside. This is a youth integration program of the CPP-NPA-NDF. (Source: Captured enemy-documents)

According to Victor, the sectoral organizations are important in creating support from the masses and for recruitment for the CPP and NPA. He noted, however, that such organizations should not be called front organizations but rather “CPP-led open organizations” and “CPP-led underground mass organizations (UGMOs).”

“The organizing of UGMO and Party-building is done inside the target organization itself by CPP cadres and operators who are also members of the target organization, or organizations. And remarkably, we have a 95% accuracy in recruiting all leadership of the open organizations to become members of UGMOs and the Communist Party. Why? Because you will only control the mass movement in any direction if you control its leadership,” Victor said. 

He added: “There will be no party building, army building, and united front building without a deep, wide, and thorough-going mass base. The most important element of mass base is the people, and the most important process in the mass base building is organizing. This is why - and how - we survive.” 

--THE WARS WITHIN (2020)

Ceasefire: Means to an End

Excerpt from the internal memorandum of the CPP-NPA entitled “Mga Puntong Patnubay sa Pag-iral ng Interim Ceasefire ng CPP-NPA-NDF at Indefinite Ceasefire ng GRP” recovered from two top ranking member of the CPP-NPA-NDF who were both arrested in 2017. The document specifies the guidance of the CPP’s Central Committee to its territorial organs during the conduct of peace process. It shows how the CPP-NPA-NDF exploits the peace process with the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) 

to advance their deceitful agenda, and not the real agenda of peace. (Source: Captured enemy-documents)

Why then do the communists even agree to peace negotiations when they know that they won’t achieve peace? “Well, because they get something out of it,” Victor quipped.

Jalandoni noted in an article he wrote years ago that through peace negotiations, the NDFP has been able “to draw benefits for the people by being firm on revolutionary principles and flexible in policy.” Because of peace negotiations, 56 out of 200 political prisoners held as of 2001 were released. Jalandoni (2001) even went as far as saying that the GRP always tries “to gain on the negotiating table what it cannot in the battlefield.”

These show that any peace negotiations with the CPP is pointless given that the rebels only use such actions to gain the upper hand in terms of policy, and regain momentum on the armed struggle front. “In plain terms, the CPP does not want peace to reign in the Philippines if the state leadership is not on their hands; or in other words, the primary goal of the CPP is to seize state power – nothing lesser than that,” Victor concluded. 

--THE WARS WITHIN (2020 / Copy&Share)

Rebolusyonaryong Buwis sa Kaaway na Uri

Screengrab of the Module on the CPP-NPA-NDF's Financial Generation Plan. The document was recovered from a top ranking member of the CPP-NPA-NDF who was arrested in 2015. It shows the different target sources of funds and financial support for the CPP-NPA-NDF. (Source: Captured enemy-documents)

According to Victor, the NPA earns around PHP 600 to PHP 700 million a year from extortion from companies and politicians alike in his former area of operations. This is what they call rebolusyonaryong buwis sa kaaway na uri (RBKU), which is different from revolutionary taxes the NPA often get from farmers, fisherfolk, and IPs.

“Aside from defeating and crushing the NPA, and countering their political operations in urban centers, the government also have to focus on how to curb and crush the network of resource and finance generation of the CPP. Unfortunately, the government had long fell short on this effort,” Victor said. 

--THE WARS WITHIN (2020 / Copy&Share)

Hypocrites

“Under the dictatorship of the proletariat, there will be no human rights. Kapag kinalaban mo Communist Party of the Philippines, kapag kinalaban mo ang interes ng partido at ang interes ng revolutionary government, ikaw ay isu-suppress, tatawagin kang counterrevolutionary [When you go against the CPP, when you challenge the party’s interests and that of the revolutionary government, you will be suppressed, branded a counterrevolutionary]. Look at the history of some communist countries," Victor noted.

“So hipokrito ba kami? I should say yes. Later ko na lang narecognize na hipokrito kami nang wala na ako sa loob, na pagdating pala sa dictatorship of the proletariat, ‘yung mga human rights na ito, hindi ito ganoon kadali i-exercise. Hindi papayagan ang mga rally at mga welga under the dictatorship of the proletariat. Under the dictatorship of the proletariat, kapag Communist Party of the Philippines na ang naghahari dito, there will be total absolute suppression of all political rights [So are we hypocrites? I should say yes. It was only when I was no longer inside the movement that I realized that we were hypocrites, that under the dictatorship of the proletariat, these human rights won’t be honored. Rallies won’t be permitted. Under the dictatorship of the proletariat, when the CPP rules, there will be total absolute suppression of all political rights],” he added. 

--THE WARS WITHIN (2020 / Copy&Share)

The Youth and Armed Revolution

Recruitment Tactics. Screengrab of a document 
recovered from a top ranking CPP-NPA-NDF member 
who was arrested in 2018. 

Victor believes the government should navigate better the social media sphere to save young people from getting recruited into the CPP. The technology, he noted, is highly dynamic and rapidly changes. But the core strategy remains the same.

“We know the categories for youth and student recruitment. Our primary targets are potential leaders and scholars because they are critical thinkers. You could also see and feel a sense of discipline in them. Lastly, they must be open-minded and liberal, in that they would easily be drawn to discourse. These are who we target for our propaganda,” Victor said.

“So again, why does the CPP prioritize for recruitment talented youths, especially the thinkers, artists, writers, and the like? Let me paraphrase Mao Tse-tung: ‘To defeat the enemy, we rely primarily on the people’s army wielding the gun. But this is not enough, we must also have an army wielding the pen.’ This is one of the reasons why we prefer to recruit those who have literary skills, or inclinations to arts. Artists have very fertile imagination. They almost have solutions to almost anything. They are also passionate, expressive, and highly innovative,” he added. 

--THE WARS WITHIN (2020 / Copy&Share)

Brutal Reality

Photo from captured enemy-documents.

“Brrrttt!... Bang! Bang!... Brrrttt!... Bang! Bang!”

Victor jumped out from the bench he was sleeping on. He instinctively knew what it was. There was no mistaking to what the sound was. Quickly dropping to the ground, shocked, he crawled a few feet towards his comrades to ensure they were awake and safe.

Though fearful, Victor cautiously looked around the room, quietly checked if he was the only one awakened by the distinct sound of gunfire, and peeked to see outside. His fellow communist insurgents were already awake, and from their eyes he knew they also didn’t know what to do. They were shocked by the sudden turn of events - confused at the very least. 

The sound of gunfire just after midnight was a dreaded event – it meant death lurks around. They all have to think fast. From the first volley of gunfire, Victor knew they were not theirs. They were from the enemy, and they were under fierce attack!

Victor understood well that the enemy’s bullets are always addressed “To whom it may concern.” He knew, “In combat, every bullet does not discriminate. Dare to get on its way and you’re done for sure. It’s a timeless rule in combat: Always respect the incoming.” 

“What went wrong? How did the enemy track us? We were supposed to be invisible to them, especially when we are with the masa (CPP-NPA-NDF mass base, or supporters),” Victor mused.

He was at a loss, so were his comrades. He was cradling his M-16 rifle so tight he forgot to use it - or he had lost courage to fire it at the advancing enemy. Victor’s group groped in the dark, confused on where to run as enemy bullets were landing near the house they were in. There were only four houses in the area situated in a line formation. Victor and company were fast losing time to safely extricate themselves from the ensuing firefight. 

--THE WARS WITHIN (2020 / Copy&Share)

Love and Family

Photo from captured enemy-documents.

“Love and Family - these make an individual complete as a person and as a fundamental part of every society. The communist’s perspectives on how they view family explain the values that they have: that they look at people simply as mechanical social elements that can be programmed through mechanical social distortion process known by their jargons, such as: Socialism, Dictatorship of the Proletariat, Communism, etc. Social revolution through socialism in attaining modern communism can never proceed peacefully to build a new and ideal society, especially when the first thing they would do is to systematically destroy the family. The communists should understand profoundly that it is in the family where people grow to become complete persons and begin as productive members of society. The communists failed to understand, or utterly ignored, one very important point: People are human beings. They have advanced type of brains in the entire animal kingdom so they can think and feel with rationality. Hence, the mechanical absolutism of communism, and its instrument that is socialism, cannot become a reality for mankind since they view the development of people in such mechanical absolutism,” Victor explained. 

--THE WARS WITHIN (2020)

Dispensable and Expendable

Photo from captured enemy-documents.

There are triggers to his pains. He gets bothered when he hears news about the CPP’s student recruitment in universities, sharing the pain – but also guilt – when parents talk about their missing children.

“Why do we recruit the children of the masses while some cadres prevent their children and don’t commit them to the revolution? That is unfair. The children of the masses we recruit die and go missing, their families get destroyed but when it’s their [the CPP-NPA-NDF leaders] families, many cadres protect their children from being recruited and affected. It contributed to my demoralization when I realized that what I am doing already is no longer principle-based but driven by greed. These thoughts led me to fully realize that the Marxist-Leninist-Maoist ideology I embraced for almost 30 years was a utilitarian tool and not a principle for moral salvation. It was a nightmarish experience for me to finally come to my senses that everyone and everything in the CPP is good only when you’re needed, or when you’re useful to the leaders and can serve their goals. Everyone and everything is dispensable and expendable – this is the true essence and reality of utilitarianism,” Victor added. 

--THE WARS WITHIN (2020 / Copy&Share)

Half-truths Are Fatal

Excerpt from a document entitled "Memo on Kampanyang Masa mula 2016
 hanggang 2017" recovered from two top ranking members of the CPP-NPA-NDF 
who were both arrested in 2017. It listed the issues being exploited by the 
CPP-NPA-NDF in their propaganda campaigns and mobilizations. 

The CPP’s tactics to win the people’s hearts and minds are predicated on taking advantage of the ignorance and hard living conditions of the masses in both urban and rural communities, especially in far-off villages. The message they bring is simple, but effective in winning sympathy: “They peddle during the early stages of indoctrination that communism will release the poor and the oppressed from the bondage of poverty” (Liwanag et al., 2009).

What makes the CPP tactic effective is that they use half-truths to give their claims a semblance of legitimacy, then subtly distort the message – by exaggeration, or omission of key details, or any such duplicitous tactics – to agitate the masses and incite them to take up organized action against the government. Victor illustrates how the CPP might go about this tactic using, for instance, the issue of tuition fee increase.

“Magsimula ka muna sa hindi tama na ang education ay pinapabayaan ng gobyerno, ang edukasyon ay karapatan ng mga kabataan at lahat ng mamamayan, it is an internationally recognized universal human rights. ‘Yon muna ang shaping operation ng aking narrative [Start with the idea that education is being neglected by the government, when education is a right of all citizens, an internationally recognized universal human right]."

"Therefore, hindi tama ang magko-control ng educational system ay mga private corporations. Pinababayaan ng gobyerno at hinahayaan niya ang mga may-ari ng mga eskwelahang pribado ay mag-impose ng mga malalaking bayarin sa eskwelahan na hindi naman kayang bayaran ng mga ordinaryo at pobreng mga pamilya. So ang attack kaagad ay commercialization of education is a conspiracy of the government and the state and the private capitalists [Therefore, it’s not right that private corporations control the educational system. The government is letting owners of private schools impose high tuition fees that ordinary people can’t afford. So my line of attack would be: the commercialization of education is a conspiracy of the government and the state and the private capitalists]." 

For well-intentioned reformists, their action step would be to hold dialogues with school operators and work out a compromise to ensure that tuition fee increases won’t be too high as to place an unduly heavy burden on students. Another possible option would be to hold talks with the government for it to intercede.

But the CPP’s line of attack, Victor said, would be to immediately point to the government as the perpetrator and main villain in order to undermine people’s trust in the government. Communist members would use common issues – such as tuition fee increases, or land reform issues, or labor sector issues, or environment topics – to call for only one thing: “to destroy, attack, and weaken the government of the people.” “Kapag na-organize na ang mga napaniwala, o ang mga naloko, papasok na ang kanyang programang political education. Ibig sabihin tuloy-tuloy ka niyang i-input-an ng mga pagmumulat ng kaisipan at pananaw na hindi ka na lang makuntento na tatanggapin mo na kailangan repormahin lang ang batas. Ang direksyon mo, kailangan kunin mo ang kapangyarihan sa gobyerno at babaguhin mo ang gobyerno [When those who believed, or those who were deceived, were organized, we begin with political education. What this means is that the process of inputting new ideas into you would continue, sso you won’t be content in the idea of simply reforming the law. Your direction is that there is a need to seize power from the government and to change governance],” Victor explained. 

--THE WARS WITHIN (2020 / Copy&Share)

Address the Gaps

Photo from captured enemy-documents.

“It is a critical gap on the part of the government that it doesn’t have a systematic information campaign to counter enemy propaganda. The start of organizing is always propaganda in whatever form it is. The cadres cannot recruit if they are not well-trained and don’t have effective propaganda lines. The government’s lack of strategic communications plan is alarming,” Victor said. “The government doesn’t really need to fight the war toe-to-toe in combat because the local communists won’t really win a shooting war against the Philippine government security forces. But there is an area that the government might be missing out - the war on winning the hearts and the minds of those that the CPP-NPA-NDF were able to deceive because of weak and untimely dissemination of correct information. 70% of the component of communist insurgency is political operations, alliance, propaganda, recruitment, ISW. These are not combat actions. The 70% for so long has been the main gap that the government failed to address. It cannot be addressed singularly by the armed forces because they are political operations by nature. Take my case for example, I was recruited not through the armed process and many of us are like this. They recruited us through political and non-violent means. The Abu Sayaff is not a national threat because they don’t recruit in urban centers. They also don’t have national operations, or much more intensified recruitment in the schools, labor and religious sectors, and others. Given this, it is only the CPP-NPA- NDF that is really a serious security threat. The government must therefore a systematic information campaign to effectively address the enemy’s IPO works to derail and disrupt its entire operations. I’m glad that there is a national task force now for this purpose – the NTF ELCAC to advance the concept of EO 70, or the Whole-of-Nation approach to end local communist armed conflict.”

  

Victor added, “More than simply engaging the CPP in armed encounters and exposing their true nature. There is a need for the government to develop an effective counter- consciousness mechanism to make the people feel more as government’s valuable partners in every program. The CPP is effective at recruiting because it is successful in fostering an ideological culture in the minds of the people and in making them feel that everything the CPP is doing is for the wellbeing of the country. In my years in the Communist organization, I observed two glaring gaps that the government failed to address over the years. Namely: (1) Effectively countering the CPP’s cultural mechanism, and (2) Failure to make the people feel as valuable partners in peace and development.” 

--THE WARS WITHIN (2020 / Copy&Share) 

  

CPP-NPA-NDF: Progressive or Regressive?

Teach in, or education discussion, on Maikling Kurso
ng Lipunan at Rebolusyong Pilipino (MKLRP) to minors.
(Photo from captured enemy-documents)

“Looking back 32 years ago, when I was first recruited into the CPP youth and student organization, I was full of hope and vigor to change this country. I felt that the power to change the world is in our hands, in the communist movement. But after decades of a life on the run, I finally found my life’s purpose - I found it in the family that I neglected for a long time. I also realized that I can still serve the people even if I don't join the armed communist revolution, which aims to seize state power and dislodge our democratic way of life. This is the most important lesson that I learned: no matter how imperfect our government and the system we have, communism cannot be a substitute, or be made the panacea, for all its imperfections. We can attain reforms through legal and peaceful means. And we can always work for sustainable peace and inclusive development without destroying the basic foundation of Filipino society – our families. Hence, I find it ironic that the CPP and its front organizations call themselves “progressive”. What is progressive in deceitfully separating minors from their parents and their families, and then ending up dead somewhere? Isn’t it 'regressive' rather than ‘progressive’? Any attempt to destabilize families, or to separate family members from each other, is a huge disrespect to the Filipino spirit and time-honored values,” he emphasized. 

--THE WARS WITHIN (2020 / Copy&Share)