The May 9 election is just a month away. As it approaches, the mass movement against Rodrigo Duterte’s tryanny and against attempts of the Marcoses to return to power continues to gain strength. This movement has merged with the main flow of the election campaign of the leading political opposition candidate, and is reaching and rousing hundreds of thousands of people in street demonstrations across the country.

On the other hand, Duterte and his cohorts and minions are clinging more tightly to power. They are using worse tactics to perpetuate themselves in power.They have intensified repression and political attacks against progressive parties representing the broadest anti-tyranny organized force. Duterte’s attacks also target the leading political opposition.

Having appointed all its officers, Duterte now has full control of the Commision on Elections. Thus, he has all the power to install his candidate in Malacañang by manipulating the election results. However, in the face of the growing anti-tyranny movement, Duterte is keenly aware that brazen stealing of the elections can ignite a 1986-like massive uprising which he mortally fears.

To make the results credible, funds are now flowing to create a false picture on media, social media and surveys of broad support for the Marcos-Duterte tandem. To derail the growing mass movement, the political opposition is relentlessly red-tagged to terrorize their ranks, or sow intrigue and break the broad unity of the progressive and conservatives against Duterte’s tyranny.

As Marcos did before declaring martial law in 1972, Duterte is now creating a scenario of “communist disruption” in the elections which he can possibly use to impose military rule before or after the elections to pepetuate himself in power or install his chosen one in some form of “political transition.”

But whatever scheme Duterte has to perpetuate himself in power or install a someone to seat in his stead will surely be resisted by the Filipino people who are determined to end his tyrannical reign. The further strengthening of the democratic mass movement and the giant street demonstrations will serve as one of the key factors that will shape the outcome of the political struggles in the coming weeks.

Duterte’s insistent cling to power in the face of the rising anti-tyranny mass movement and alliance of the political opposition intensifies the contradictions between the rival factions of the ruling classes. The US and its political agents are trying to iron out an accomodation by pairing up Duterte’s candidates with the opposition. In the face of deepening crisis of the ruling system, these attempts will likely fail to gain the support of the major rival factions.

Putting an end to the tyrranical rule and attaining justice will not end with the Duterte’s ouster or leaving the throne. He must be made to account and punished for his innumerable crimes, and made to pay for plundering the people’s coffers. All political detainees must be released and the policy of filing trumped up charges, armed suppression, intimidation and repression against patriotic and democratic forces must be put to an end. The entire state must be cleansed of military officers appointed by Duterte to gain the AFP and PNP’s loyalty, and of the fascist influence on all state policies.

To effectively push through with these, the national democratic forces must thoroughly strengthen the people’s organized ranks and their capability to mobilize large numbers in the streets. They must completely shatter all fears and do everything to raise the political consciousness and militancy of millions of people in the cities and countryside.

THey must sharply and firmly link the anti-fascist political struggles against Duterte’s tyranny with the people’s economic struggles against rising prices of fuel, food and other commodities, as well as against the neoliberal policies that will further tighten foreign control of the country’s economy. Workers must be mobilized to fight for wage increases and to defend their rights. Amplify the demand for genuine land reform must be amplified, and intensify the struggle against land-grabbing by landlords, plantation and mining companies, and infrastructure, ecotourism and energey projects.

The following weeks must see the further invigoration of the masses’ political activity and further advance of the movement to end Duterte’s tyranny. Before the elections, more massive demonstrations must be mounted, while preparing to act and engage in political struggles immediately after the elections to effectively advance the democratic struggles whatever shape the situation takes.

During this period, units of the New People’s Army (NPA) must mount tactical offensives that they win in order to prevent Duterte from using the military and police for his schemes to suppress the people’s resistance. The NPA must closely monitor the movements of the AFP and PNP and take advantage of the big possibility of the state armed forces being overstretched if Duterte resorts to martial law.

We must do all we can to take advantage of the deepening crisis of the ruling system, advance the people’s struggles, and strengthen the Party and the entire revolutionary movement.