Editorial:
The AFP is on a losing course

Basahin ang artikulong ito sa Pilipino

The key factor in the AFP's disintegration and enfeeblement is its mercenary, puppet, reactionary and fascist character which has resulted in its extreme isolation from the broad masses. Its political bankruptcy and isolation comprise the fundamental context of the worsening demoralization, factionalization and infighting besetting its ranks.

The AFP serves and defends the interests of US imperialism and the local ruling classes, upholds foreign military intervention and supports the puppet state and its betrayal of the country's welfare and sovereignty. It brutally suppresses the struggling democratic forces and people. The AFP and PNP's nationalist pretense is torn asunder and the patriotism of even the junior officers and rank-and-file is aroused with time's passing.

The severe political and social crisis impedes the AFP's ability to suppress the revolutionary armed movement. These obstacles are mounting due to the rapid degeneration of the entire ruling system. The Arroyo regime undertakes large-scale militarization and the fascist practices of the AFP. Though this may create certain tactical problems for the revolutionary and progressive forces, in the long run, the AFP and the government will pay more dearly in the political and military realms.

The AFP's forces are extremely overextended. About 70% of the AFP's entire fighting force is directed against the New People's Army (NPA). Despite the huge number of forces trained against the NPA, however,the AFP cannot concentrate them all against the NPA in all parts of the country on a sustained basis. It likewise uses a large number of forces to guard the center of reactionary power because of coup threats, aside from having to fight the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, Abu Sayyaf and other armed forces it has to confront to defend the reactionary government.

In its effort to overcome the limited number of its forces, the AFP uses the tactics of rapidly mobilizing, shifting and relatively concentrating its large forces in what it believes to be the strongest NPA guerrilla fronts as well as in other areas of intense armed conflict. Out of the overall number of 120 NPA guerrilla fronts, the AFP is able to concentrate its forces at any one time on not more than 10 of them.

Like a confused firefighter, the AFP shifts its attention to wherever the fires of the NPA's tactical offensives are ignited, even as, when we come down to it, the NPA's tactical offensives have just begun to gain momentum.

As a whole, the ruling state's armed forces come to about 270,000. Although much bigger than during the Marcos dictatorship, it has also grown much weaker. Along with additional recruitment into the AFP, the reactionary state relies on supplementary forces from the Philippine National Police (PNP), the expanded CAFGU and other paramilitary groups, none of whom is very reliable in combat. With 80% of the military budget spent on salaries, pensions and other needs of AFP personnel, (aside from the fact that the bulk of it is stolen by AFP officials) it lacks resources to procure needed weapons and military equipment.

In the face of the worsening economic crisis, the AFP and the entire military establishment have become an extreme burden to the people. The gargantuan allocation and the ever-growing resources gobbled up by the counterrevolutionary war that the AFP is unable to end and win are in contradiction to the worsening problem of an ever-growing government budget deficit. Hence, the bankrupt reactionary government is hard put providing the additional resources demanded by the AFP. These can only be provided in exchange for a large reduction in needed social services, further squeezing the people dry, the further escalation of the socio-economic crisis and the further intensification of the people's loathing for the government.

The key to qualitatively improving the AFP's capacity to pursue the counterrevolutionary war is large-scale US military aid. Thus, the puppet government blindly upholds the US' global "war against terrorism" and encourages the basing and intervention of US armed troops in the Philippines. The leaders of the reactionary government and the military also believe that direct US military intervention in the Philippines is now very much needed given the puppet troops' inability to effectively fight the growing revolutionary forces. This will further drive the AFP into becoming an even more mercenary and puppet force, which will further destroy any semblance of the AFP's integrity as a national army.

Intensifying demoralization and factionalization within the AFP are pushing it along a losing course. The revolutionary movement and the people's growing resistance, successive defeats suffered by the AFP and continuing attrition in the hands of the revolutionary forces result in worsening desperation among the government armed forces.

Top government and military leaders make matters worse because they use soldiers as cannon fodder, push them to fight meaningless battles, and order them to wreak havoc, undertake dirty schemes and perpetrate heinous crimes against the people. A growing number of officers and soldiers can no longer stomach this situation.

It is in the AFP's character to be undemocratic, repressive and fascist not only in relation to the people but also with respect to relations between officers and the rank-and-file because it is a coercive instrument of the reactionary ruling classes for oppressing and exploiting the people.

The mercenary armed forces have become even more fractious as a result of rivalries among big politicians and the latter's use of the AFP and PNP for their factional interests. Corruption and stealing, involvement in criminal syndicates, excessive privileges and luxurious lifestyles among government leaders and the military organization are rampant, making it more difficult for their armed forces to fight.

Despite the AFP's current overwhelming superiority over the NPA in terms of personnel, arms, organization and finances, it cannot prevent the continued advance of people's war.

It is mass support for the NPA that serves as the decisive factor in its victory. The NPA re-lies on an ever-widening and ever-deepening mass base, on agrarian revolution, and on the masses' strong participation in, and support for, people's war. Together with the masses, the NPA is fighting to achieve a bright fu-ture for the people. The NPA and the revolutionary movement represent the people's revolutionary aspirations and the national-democratic program which ad-vances the people's interests. The NPA and the masses cooperate with each other in overthrowing the old rotten order to build a new and advanced social system.

The NPA's closeness to the masses of the people is the one undeniable factor responsible for its success. Most of its forces are drawn from the nation's best sons and daughters. Most of its time is devoted to conducting mass work, which is an important factor in the conduct of excellent military work. The masses support the forces of the NPA. Therefore, the NPA is not dependent on any external assistance. In all its actions and its tasks, it always takes into account the interests and welfare of the people. Its officers and fighters are infused with a high sense of cherishing and serving the people and a strong fighting spirit.

Democracy and discipline concurrently exist within the NPA. The people's army strictly adheres to the Three Main Rules and Eight Points of Attention as well as Party and NPA policies. At the same time, it vigorously implements the system of three democra-cies�political democracy, economic democracy and military democracy.

The Party and the people's army carefully study and adapt to social conditions as well as the nature and movements of the reactionary military forces. Therefore, the NPA is able to outline a successful strategy and tactics for advancing the people's war. Given the country's semicolonial and semifeudal condition and at the present stage of people's war, the NPA correctly carries out the strategic line of encircling the cities from the countryside until the eventual overthrow of the very center of the enemy's political power.

The NPA launches extensive and intensive guerrilla warfare. It launches tactical offensives against weak and isolated enemy forces while avoiding encounters with stronger enemy forces. It expands in areas where the enemy is weak even as it ensures the continued conduct of political work and the maintenance of links, guidance and mass organizing in areas where the military is intensely concentrated and wreaking havoc.

While the reactionary armed forces are on a losing course, the NPA and the revolutionary forces are marching along the path of certain victory. There is no doubt that in the continuing advance of people's war, the NPA and the revolutionary forces will annihilate the AFP and the other reactionary forces and achieve total victory.

21 August 2003
English Edition

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