Editorial:
Consolidate and further expand the people�s unity to overthrow the US-Estrada regime!

Basahin ang artikulong ito sa Pilipino

Estrada is trembling for fear of being ousted from his lair, his power being shaken by continued and successive nationwide protest actions as well as by the continuing decline of an economy already in the depths of crisis. Estrada has unleashed a coordinated campaign of deception, threats, bribery and intrigues in a desperate attempt to break the solid unity of a people marching in protest. All this, however, will fail to thwart the further consolidation and expansion of the people's unity. It is becoming ever clearer to more and more people that in order to remove Estrada, they would need to rely more primarily on the continued intensification and expansion of protests until Malaca�ang is surrounded by a million people determined to end Estrada's rule of profligacy, anomalies, decadence and violence.

The political crisis of the ruling system continues to worsen. Because of Estrada's stubbornness in clinging to power, the crisis becomes even more difficult to resolve swiftly and smoothly, as US imperialism would have it. As days go by, polarization and open conflicts among the opposing factions of the ruling class are exacerbated.

The anti-Estrada and pro-Estrada reactionaries openly clashed in the impeachment proceedings of Congress in mid-November. This was characterized, on the one hand, by the mass resignation of members from Malaca�ang's party including the heads of the Senate and Congress; and on the other, by the all-out use of funds and influence to maneuver the ascension of a new pro-Estrada leadership in the Congress and Senate.

More and more business organizations have openly joined the anti-Estrada movement, including those of big bourgeois compradors such as the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Bankers Association of the Philippines, Makati Business Club and officials of the Philippine Stock Exchange aside from other business associations in the different provinces. Even the Federation of the Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce Inc. headed by Lucio Tan, one of the biggest cronies, has failed to commit itself to Estrada.

The economy continues to decline. The government budget deficit stood at P95.545 billion as of October, more than even the revised target of P90 billion for the year 2000. In order to stabilize the peso-dollar exchange rate, the BSP sold billions of dollars in the market, resulting in the reduction by $500 million of its dollar reserves in just a month. Big business estimates that the economy will continue to decline next year. In a bid to artificially pumpprime the economy anew, the government plans to borrow another $3.5 billion next year.

The anti-Estrada faction in the AFP has openly expressed its disenchantment. Disfranchised officials of the AFP and PNP have mustered enough courage to express their grievances against the favoritism of Estrada, Lacson and Reyes. The involvement in kidnapping, illegal drugs and human rights violations of the erstwhile Presidential Anti-Crime Commission led by Estrada and Lacson has also been exposed.

Due to Estrada's desperation in the face of the intense political crisis, it has further sought refuge with the Marcos family, Eduardo "Danding" Cojuangco and Lucio Tan. Cojuangco and Tan have put up a P10-billion slush fund to bribe politicians (especially senators who will judge his impeachment case), fund rallies, pay media people and finance the pro-Estrada propaganda campaign. In return, Estrada has railroaded the approval of Executive Order 313 that would ensure that Cojuangco pockets the coco levy fund and his shares in San Miguel Corporation despite opposition from millions of small coconut farmers. By threatening to withdraw their support, the Marcoses are pushing Estrada to provide greater concessions especially in terms of speeding up their recovery of their ill-gotten wealth.

Estrada and his most trusted minions are undertaking a propaganda offensive that aims to defeat the broad anti-Estrada protest movement as well as the impeachment case against him in the Senate.

Through the help of his partymates in the Senate, Estrada will attempt to prolong the impeachment case, in the hope that street protests would lose steam and give him time to fix next year's elections, thus prolonging his rule. The call to "let the trial proceed, suspend the protests" has been echoed in order to stop the momentum of the protests and pave the way for his acquittal in the Senate. As a matter of fact, there are enough pro-Estrada senators to vote for Estrada's acquittal. However, this is not so easily done considering the raging anti-Estrada protests.

Malaca�ang strategists aim to break the broad anti- Estrada united front. They employ anti-communist scare tactics in order to cause the anti-Estrada reactionaries to hesitate in coordinating with militant organizations of the basic masses that are labeled as "communist". On the other hand, Estrada also brands the protests "elitist", thinking that he would be able to prevent the militant forces from cooperating with the anti-Estrada reactionaries. The same objective is also served by the slogan calling for the resignation of all government officials. Issued by the counterrevolutionary clique of Filemon Lagman, it deflects the principal target of protests away from Estrada.

There has been no letup in the disinformation campaign of the PNP and AFP leadership. The latter has been spreading lies about so-called plans of the NPA to sabotage the demonstrations. They have also declared that they have been monitoring rallies and speeches and that they are ready to file "sedition" charges against anyone calling for the overthrow of the Estrada government. All these tactics aim to scare away the broad masses from participating in peaceful demonstrations. A scenario of widespread chaos is being concocted. The AFP and PNP also have saboteurs and agents provocateurs who can infiltrate protests and foment trouble in order to justify the use of the fascist machinery to break up the demonstrations and arrest leaders of militant organizations. The Lagman clique can play a special role in this scheme: in the name of "insurrectionism", it can carry out bus-burnings, destruction of property, assassinations and others.

The "prayer rally" organized by the El Shaddai-Iglesia ni Cristo on November 11 which used public funds and relied on required attendances aimed to counter the November 4 rally and shroud the Estrada government's corruption and rottenness with a veil of sanctity. In order to show that he continues to enjoy popular support, Estrada uses his power and control over funds to ensure the loyalty of politicians, especially local bureaucrats.

Whatever method Estrada employs to prolong his stay in power, he will be defeated as the wave of street protests continues to gather strength. Every second more that Estrada insists on staying in power provides the people opportunity to further consolidate their struggle. The overthrow of Estrada relies principally on ever growing and intensifying mass actions. Even the possibility that the Senate would decide to impeach Estrada's rests primarily on the strength of mass protests and the people's call for Estrada's ouster. The broad anti-Estrada united front should be strengthened and broadened in the face of attempts to destroy it.

National-democratic forces must focus their attention on launching ever growing mass actions. It is important to focus attention on launching militant mass actions such as workers' strikes, walkouts and demonstrations in schools, offices, communities and others. We must ensure that the various forces within the broad united front support these actions, or at the least, do not actively oppose them.

While the people are mobilized primarily along the call to overthrow or oust Estrada, there should be continued efforts to propagate and clarify the national-democratic struggle. There should be skillful combinations of sweeping and solid propaganda.

Victory in the struggle against the Estrada government can be measured in terms of the formation of a broad anti-Estrada united front, the launching of street actions by the people in their millions and by the actual ouster of Estrada. But more than this, relative to the question of the overall advance of the national-democratic revolution, victory in the anti-Estrada struggle can be measured in terms of the quantity and quality by which the people have raised the level of their strength to advance the revolutionary struggle: in terms of building new, or expanding existing mass organizations; in terms of the number of new mass activists and Party members; in terms of the expanding influence that the revolutionary forces exercise among broader sections of the people; and in terms of raising to ever greater heights the people's militancy and capability to fight for their national and democratic interests.

As stated in the EC-CC statement of October 14, the NPA should further intensify the armed struggle by launching regular and special tactical offensives. Armed offensives should be launched as an expression of the people's intense hatred of the Estrada regime. At the same time, it is extremely important to continuously advance the antifeudal struggles in the countryside which mobilizes millions of peasant masses.

Even now the revolutionary movement is advancing with great strides. It will certainly gain further strength as the political crisis of the ruling system worsens.

November 2000
English Edition

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