Anniversary greetings to the NDFP on its 30th year!

Revolutionary Council of Trade Unions
April 24, 2003

We in the Revolutionary Council of Trade Unions (RCTU) convey our warmest regards and best wishes to the leadership of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) and to all allied revolutionary organizations on the 30th anniversary of the founding of the NDFP. We extend our special greetings to our comrades in the Communist Party of the Philippines and the New People's Army for their leading, exemplary and heroic role in breaking the path and setting the pace of resuming the revolutionary armed struggle of the Filipino people for national and social liberation, years before the CPP initiated the formation of the NDFP, and for advancing the people's war for the last 34 years.

The RCTU is very pleased and takes pride in having been a part of and contributed its humble share in broadening and strengthening the NDFP over the decades. Now our revolutionary alliance stands as the broadest, strongest, most consistent and able fighter for the national and democratic rights and interests of the Filipino people against US imperialist domination and the oppressive and exploitative rule of the local big compradors and landlords.

We have made big achievements in all forms and fields of struggle in spite of the massive and ruthless attacks of the foreign and domestic reactionary enemies. We have outlived the US-backed Marcos fascist dictatorship and have successfully surmounted the continuing fascist onslaughts and deception of the subsequent puppet regimes of US imperialism including its present stooge and running dog the Macapagal ruling clique.

Furthermore, our leading allied organization the CPP-NPA has effectively thwarted the attempts of "left" and right opportunist renegades, acting as special agents of the reactionary ruling classes, to destroy our revolutionary forces from within and attack the CPP-NPA and other allied revolutionary organizations from without. Not only the CPP-NPA but the entire NDFP have been able to rectify the grave errors and disorientation mainly caused by these renegade elements, set aright our revolutionary course, renew strength and further advance.

The revolutionary workers' movement represented by the RCTU has tried its best to firmly point out, cast away and rectify the major errors and weaknesses it has committed since the 1980s up to the early years of the 1990s, mainly that of economism cum insurrectionism as well as the grave corruption and anomalies that this error bred among a handful of cadres and mass leaders in the trade union movement. We have repudiated and combatted the Trotskyite Lagman renegade clique and other incorrigible opportunist elements. By the third quarter of the last decade we already arrested the decline of the militant workers' movement and started to regain strength and gradually advanced during the last quarter. We thank most of all the CPP, the advanced detachment of the workingclass, for its steadfast and wise leadership in accomplishing the Second Great Rectification Movement.

The RCTU and all the revolutionary forces in the militant trade union movement have scored important gains in the past three years, mainly in terms of consolidating our ranks. This includes the increasing rate of recruitment and good development of our revolutionary forces, ideologically, politically and organizationally. We continue to advance in expanding our mass organizing and mass base both in the factories and workers' and urban poor communities and in sustaining the mobilization of workers and semi-proletariat in major sectoral and multisectoral mass struggles and campaigns. However, these are areas of work that we still have to improve on and exert efforts to develop more rapidly. We have to effectively increase the share of the revolutionary workers' movement in completing the requisites for the people's revolutionary struggle to advance to a new and higher level in the next five years or so. We also have to increase the number of revolutionary elements from the workers that we can deploy to join and serve the revolutionary armed struggle and the New People's Army in the countryside.

We have set big fighting tasks for the next three years and we are determined to accomplish as much not only to advance the rights and interests of the

Filipino workingclass and semi-proletariat, but the great revolutionary cause and aspirations of the Filipino people for national democracy first and socialism next. We enjoin all allied organizations under the NDFP to celebrate the 30th anniversary of its founding with a firm commitment to raise our revolutionary consciousness, work, struggle and fulfill our respective tasks with greater vigor.

Long live the Filipino people's democratic revolution!

Long live the National Democratic Front of the Philippines!

Long live the Filipino workingclass!

Long live the Filipino people!


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