 |
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)
