Editorial:
Reap the gains of the struggle to overthrow the US-Estrada regime!
Continue strengthening and intensifying the Filipino people�s revolutionary struggle under the Macapagal-Arroyo regime!

Basahin ang artikulong ito sa Pilipino

The revolutionary movement is in an excellent position to reap the gains of the overthrow of the Estrada regime in the field of expanding and consolidating its organized ranks, the united front and armed struggle.

The Party and the revolutionary movement harbor no illusions that there will be fundamental changes in the rotten semicolonial and semifeudal social system. Under the Macapagal-Arroyo regime, imperialist domination and plunder, oppression by the local ruling class, the people�s wretchedness and state violence and deception will continue.

Nonetheless, especially in the early part of Macapagal-Arroyo�s rule, we must continue to assert the people�s agenda and demand that Macapagal-Arroyo put this at the center of her program.

To defend the people�s interests, we must therefore continue to persevere along the path of revolution, in all fields of struggle, especially in the arena of armed struggle.

The essence and direction of the Macapagal-Arroyo regime

Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is the current chief of the neocolonial puppet government. She and her government represent the interests of foreign monopoly capitalism and the local exploitative classes of the big comprador bourgeoisie and big landlords. Likewise, Macapagal-Arroyo represents foremost, the factional interests of the Ramos clique versus those of the Estrada-Marcos and Aquino-Cojuangco cliques.

Nonetheless, the Macapagal-Arroyo regime is distinct for having been the product of a democratic mass movement that overthrew the despised corrupt Estrada government. At the core of this mass movement is the united front of the toiling masses, petty bourgeoisie and national bourgeoisie and anti-Estrada reactionaries.

But due to her haste in ensuring their factional interests, Macapagal-Arroyo first attended to appointing pro-Ramos personalities, especially former generals and pro-imperialist technocrats. Meanwhile, up to now, Macapagal-Arroyo has not taken any move to address the people�s grievances.

The new government has boasted that there has been a "return of foreign investor confidence" after Estrada�s overthrow. But the real and fundamental economic problems of the Philippines lie in the domination and plunder committed by foreign monopoly capitalists and their local big capitalist partners and their obstruction of basic industrial development and genuine land reform. To address the people�s economic interests, radical steps must be undertaken, including the reversal of the policies of liberalization, deregulation and denationalization that were all zealously advanced by Macapagal-Arroyo in the past.

Macapagal-Arroyo�s cabinet is noticeably filled with fascist ex-AFP officials who are experts in psywar, including Gen. Fidel Ramos. They are known to use the cloak of "peace" to cover up the more basic policy of using fascist violence within the framework of advancing counterrevolutionary war against the people.

The basis for a possible critical alliance between progressive, patriotic and democratic forces on the one hand and the Macapagal-Arroyo regime on the other, is eroding as Macapagal-Arroyo continues to refuse addressing the people�s interests. Especially in the face of threats to her government�s stability, it will be good for Macapagal-Arroyo to positively address the democratic demands of the united front that catapulted her to power and woo its support and assistance for her regime.

She needs to promptly address the people�s cries, among them the prosecution of Estrada; a thoroughgoing campaign against corruption and anomalies in government; immediate remedies and long-term improvements in livelihood, wages and housing; genuine land reform for the peasant masses; repudiation of the policies of denationalization, deregulation, liberalization, contractualization, casualization and other forms of enslavement; repudiation of militarization, militarism and total war and meting justice to victims; and setting aside of the VFA and resistance to US intervention in the country�s internal affairs.

The tasks of the revolutionary movement

The revolutionary movement is in an excellent position to harvest a lot from the struggle to overthrow the Estrada regime. Its correct perseverance in advancing the mass movement and expanding and consolidating the united front have put the revolutionary forces in such an excellent position to take advantage of the favorable situation and further strengthen and advance in an all-sided way.

We must maintain the high level of militancy of the Filipino people primarily through solidly organizing the broad masses who participated in anti-Estrada demonstrations, especially students, workers, the urban poor, professionals and church people.

We must painstakingly conduct political education and revolutionary propaganda to sum up their experience in the anti-Estrada struggle, clarify the situation and tasks under the Macapagal-Arroyo regime, raise their consciousness on Philippine history and society and win them over to the path of revolution. We must also win over the urban poor who were deceived by Estrada and advance their interests with the people in general.

Along with this, we must continue to strengthen and expand the anti-Estrada united front towards advancing genuine social and national change. Nurture relations that have been formed and expanded in the course of advancing the protest movement. This may be done on the national, provincial or regional level and in the localities. We must use these linkages not only to advance political struggles but also to reach out to the broad masses and establish our solid organized strength in the basic level.

We must also continually expose the counterrevolutionary forces masquerading as "Leftist". In particular, we must expose their past attempt to divide the anti-Estrada united front through twisted slogans and mixing up strategic and tactical issues. We must also expose their corrupt practices, especially the Sanlakas-BMP�s sellout of the interests of workers and the urban poor.

Above all else, we must continue to intensify the revolutionary armed struggle in the countryside. We must continue to strengthen and increase the number of guerrilla fronts, advance the antifeudal struggles of the peasant masses, launch more and bigger tactical offensives and expand and consolidate the revolutionary mass base. We must continue to encourage the urban forces to go to the countryside and join the revolutionary armed struggle.

The NDFP�s openness to renewed peace talks is in accordance with revolutionary principles and the program of people�s democratic revolution. This is an added arena of struggle to advance the people�s interests, propagate the program of the national democratic revolution and expose the reactionary state�s utter lack of interest to advance the people�s welfare.

The movement by hundreds of thousands of people in EDSA and in the entire country that ousted Estrada is a warning to Macapagal-Arroyo that her every move and every policy or law she issues will closely be watched by the people. Any trampling of the interests of the toiling masses, every violation of democratic rights, all manner of treachery to the national interest and subservience to foreign interests will spur another people�s uprising.

January 2001
English Edition

	Editorial: Reap the gains of the struggle to overthrow the US-Estrada regime! Continue strengthening and intensifying the Filipino people�s revolutionary struggle under the Macapagal-Arroyo regime!
	Punish Estrada!
	The new Macapagal-Arroyo government: Bringing back the US-Ramos regime
	Factions within the police and the military
	The role of Eduardo "Danding" Cojuangco in the final months of the Estrada regime
	The gigantic, militant and peaceful mass actions that ousted Estrada
	Campaign Plan Balangai: Continuing fascist attacks in Southern Tagalog
	Statements: On the prisoners of war currently under the custody of the NPA
	Statements: On the bombings in Metro Manila
	News of Struggle