Victories of the revolutionary people and movement in Western Mindanao
The people and the revolutionary movement in Western Mindanao have many reasons to celebrate the Party's 36th anniversary. In the past year, the region effectively carried out its revolutionary tasks and contributed to the national call to intensify and expand people's war. It launched mass struggles, further expanded and consolidated its guerrilla base and raised the NPA's armed strength in the region.
Hundreds of families benefited from the minimum land reform program led by the Party. Farm workers in rice and coconut lands enjoyed wage hikes. Usury was reduced by 50%. Transportation costs for agricultural products were also reduced. And the unjust practice of subtracting a certain percentage from the weight of copra (supposedly to allow for moisture loss) was eliminated. Prices of basic commodities in village stores have also been reduced, and production through cooperation developed.
These were attained through the collective action of poor peasants, farm workers and lower-middle peasants who launched democratic consultations and dialogues and conducted alliance work. Also launched were campaigns to defend human rights as well as education, literacy, culture, health, production and other campaigns to promote the people's welfare.
The memberships of peasant, women, youth and other organizations are now in the tens of thousands, expanding the people's organizied strength. The overall mass base now comes to several hundreds of thousands and is expected to grow even more in 2005.
The support and participation of peasant organizations in the armed struggle has grown more vigorous, encouraging many peasants to join the New People's Army, thereby further strengthening the latter�s armed capability.
The reactionary army has failed to defeat the platoon formations built in the guerrilla fronts. The NPA's experience refutes AFP claims that the NPA will never be able to recover its mass base in Western Mindanao after it was demolished in the 1980s as a result of grave deviations. The NPA has successfully returned and resumed operations in strategic areas of the region's five provinces. It has overcome the military's intense psy-war campaigns and intrigues, including the deceptive schemes of the RPA-ABB which poses as a revolutionary group.
The NPA in the region confiscated 30 high-powered firearms in the past year. Up to 41 soldiers were killed and 21 wounded in ambushes, raids and disarming actions and in encounters with the AFP and CAFGU. Several times, it has successfully defended itself from the enemy's surprise attacks.
The extent of the revolutionary movement's influence in Western Mindanao can no longer be denied. In the past election, many politicians voluntarily approached the revolutionary movement to seek its permission to campaign in areas under the revolutionary government.
There has been renewed vigor in revolutionary work in the cities. As in the countryside, anti-imperialist, antifeudal and antifascist campaigns have been systematically launched, including struggles against imperialist globalization and the entry of US troops into the country. Campaigns for land reform and against the National Integrated Protected Areas (NIPA) and other anti-lumad projects were also launched. The urban mass movement also supported struggles in the countryside.
The Party organization expanded and consolidated in both city and countryside. The Party's overall membership grew by 45%, with new members mostly coming from mass organizations in the barrios.
In the face of these victories, the CPP-Western Mindanao laid down its tasks for the coming years to further strengthen the revolutionary movement in the region.
Drawn from the CPP-Western Mindanao anniversary statement
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