Editorial: Unite the people against the puppetry, brutality and corruption of the Macapagal-Arroyo regime!
The Macapagal-Arroyo regime's unparalleled puppetry, corruption and brutality are tantamount to the further intensification of the Filipino people's poverty and oppression.
The regime has demonstrated that it is rabidly reactionary and antipeople in all aspects. It is thorough in its puppetry and its shameless obsequiousness to US dictates. It is as brazen as the Estrada regime in its use of bureaucratic privilege to further its own interests and those of relatives and friends. It unbridledly violates human rights.
The Party and the revolutionary forces must act to unite the people to resist the Macapagal-Arroyo regime and make it pay dearly for its transgressions.
Malaca�ang has been going all-out in its propaganda campaign to rationalize the deployment of American troops in Mindanao. As a mark of her dovotion to Bush's policies, Macapagal-Arroyo fanatically defends such armed intervention.
Macapagal-Arroyo's shameless puppetry has fueled a series of protest actions across the country. The protests began in January and will continue to gather strength in the coming months.
To neutralize the patriotic forces, Macapagal-Arroyo is using the eradication of the despised Abu Sayyaf as an excuse to justify the armed intervention of American troops.
But this will come to nought and protests will likely intensify and broaden in the coming months especially with the existence of the following factors or a combination thereof:
1) the expose of the direct participation of American troops in military operations, contradictory to claims that they are simply engaged in training exercises;
2) the failure to retrieve the Abu Sayyaf's captives and the stay of American troops in Mindanao beyond the six-month duration set for Balikatan 02-1;
3) the maintenance of American troops in Mindanao and their participation in counter-guerrilla operations against the NPA and MILF, after the Abu Sayyaf's captives have been recovered;
4) the large-scale deployment of more American troops to Mindanao and elsewhere in the country in connection with the conduct of 15 other Balikatan exercises this year.
We must be ever alert and timely in closely studying the situation since this early, a combination of these factors has already begun to evolve gradually.
The issue of armed intervention by American troops and the development of vigorous protest actions against it provide good conditions for us to broaden and deepen our clarifications to the people on continued US domination of the economy, politics and culture and the need to struggle for national liberation.
Macapagal-Arroyo's promotion of US armed intervention in the Philippines is but one aspect of her thorough puppetry to imperialism. In the economic field, Macapagal-Arroyo is unparalleled in her all-out implementation of imperialist "globalization" and the corresponding surrender of Philippine national patrimony. These policies, which were first enforced at the start of the 1990s, have been pushed with greater momentum by Macapagal-Arroyo despite their harsh effects on the economy and the people's livelihood and social welfare.
Along with exposing Macapagal-Arroyo's shameless puppetry, we must thoroughly expose and resist the regime's intense corruption and extreme brutality in order to further propagate to the public the worsening crisis of the ruling system, unite the broadest forces against the Macapagal-Arroyo regime and frustrate its plans to stay in power beyond 2004.
It is important to take notice of prominent and big cases of corruption involving Macapagal-Arroyo herself, her husband, relatives, "official" family and close friends. (See related article)
Macapagal-Arroyo is desperately seeking funds for the 2004 elections. She wishes to exceed the sum amassed by Estrada while he was still in power and fears that the Estradas would still be able to use their huge amount of money in the coming polls to restore themselves to power.
It is essential to focus on exposing cases of violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, especially those involving the most heinous crimes against the people perpetrated in the course of all-out militarization and the counterrevolutionary war in the countryside.
It is important to highlight through the mass movement and in our propaganda the details and images of actual human rights violations and broaden the struggle that fights for justice for victims of such violations. We must pay greater attention to advancing the antifascist struggle in schools, within the health sector and among church people.
We must put focus on exposing and condemning militarization in the countryside, especially in the areas of operation of the New People's Army and Moro revolutionaries.
We must effectively counter the regime's pro-peace posturing and expose its militarist policies especially in confronting the people's revolutionary struggle. In this regard, we must also expose the regime's maneuvers, especially those of the principal militarists within, to sabotage the peace talks between the GRP and NDF and between the GRP and MILF.
We must arouse, organize and mobilize the people against the Macapagal-Arroyo regime to allow the people to advance their rights and welfare in the face of their intensifying oppression and exploitation. Muster the strength of the people in their greatest numbers to resist the all-out puppetry, brutality and corruption of the ruling regime.
The Macapagal-Arroyo regime will confront, in the coming months, growing street protests and the growing ranks of a people rising in resistance. In the past months, growing numbers of forces that joined EDSA 2, including many among the middle forces, have been withdrawing their support for the Macapagal-Arroyo regime. Through the revolutionary forces' thorough exposure of the reactionary government and winning over broader sections of the people to wage resistance, the Macapagal-Arroyo regime will be completely isolated within the coming months.
Not only will its ambition to stay in power beyond 2004 be thwarted; it may be out of power even before the conduct of the elections for which it has been preparing. This is the price it will pay for trampling on the people's rights, disregarding their welfare and plunging them to further depths of oppression and poverty.
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