6. REALIZE A BROAD ANTIFASCIST, ANTIFEUDAL AND ANTI-IMPERIALIST UNITED FRONT!

We must realize a broad antifascist, antifeudal and anti-imperialist united front under the leadership of the working class through its political party. As earlier pointed out, the foundation of this united front policy is the basic alliance of the working class and the peasantry.

Upon this foundation, we win over the urban petty bourgeoisie principally and the national bourgeoisie secondarily as additional allies. At the same time, we note well and take advantage of the splits among the reactionaries -- the comprador big bourgeoisie and landlords who are now divided between the pro-Marcos and anti-Marcos sides.

The toiling masses of workers and peasants compose the overwhelming majority of the national population and, being the most oppressed and exploited, they are the most interested in a comprehensive antifascist, antifeudal and anti-imperialist movement. They constitute the main force of the united front. Only with such a force can we implement the policy of uniting the many to oppose the few and isolate and destroy the enemy.

Going deep among the workers and also among the peasants, the Party links and coordinates both classes for a united revolutionary struggle. At the stage of the national-democratic revolution, when armed struggle is the main form of struggle, it is of the highest importance that the Party in representation of the working class must do painstaking mass work among the peasants and build a peasant army.

It does not suffice to say that the peasantry is the closest and most reliable ally of the working class. Further analysis is required for the concrete application of the united front in the countryside. The peasantry is divided into three strata with various political attitudes on the basis of their economic status.

We must develop the antifeudal united front in the countryside. We must rely mainly on the poor peasants, win over the middle peasants and neutralize the rich peasants to oppose the evil landlord gentry. When we speak of the peasantry as the closest ally of the working class, we refer essentially to the poor peasants and middle peasants.

The barrio organizing committee was originally conceived as an organ of expansion and as the embryo of local people's government along the line of the united front. Now that we are laying it aside, it does not mean that we are dispensing with united front work in the barrios. We simply want to strengthen the poor peasants and lower-middle peasants together in their own mass organization and not simply mix them up with the rich peasants and other unstable elements in a committee.

Carrying out the united front policy and employing its tactics, we must deal properly with all those entities outside the peasant movement. We must step by step win over the entirety of the middle peasants into the association, we must deal with them properly as individuals or groups and still try to gain some support and cooperation from them.

The rich peasants are not so much interested in the antifeudal movement. But they resent the economic crisis, the arbitrariness of the fascist dictatorship and the increasing taxes and have some patriotic feelings. When the revolutionary peasant movement is strong and the people's army is around, they are quite a hospitable lot and may even offer to join the peasant association. It is upon the rise of reaction that their reactionary aspect comes to the fore.

There are usually traditional and legal organizations where peasants of all strata are mixed up. We cannot summarily ban or ignore these. We must study these carefully and apply the united front policy to make them truly beneficial to the poor and lower-middle peasants or helpful to the revolutionary struggle.

There are such associations or groupings as the elders' councils, the usually informal mutual aid and labor exchange groups, irrigation associations, farm workers' groups, cooperatives, youth clubs, athletic teams, carpenters' groups, the parents-teachers association, 4H club, women's club, religious sects and so on and so forth.

Even such tools of the reactionary government as the barrio or "barangay council", "kabataang barangay", "samahang nayon" and at certain times the rural police, ronda or "home defense"' unit may be neutralized, transformed or broken up, depending on the circumstances. The names of these associations can often be used for revolutionary dual tactics specifically for covering up what is revolutionary.

In the countryside, there are many other kinds of possible allies. There are the teachers and other professionals, the small and middle merchants and entrepreneurs, certain relatively big businessmen and some enlightened landlords. The teachers and professionals are good medium for spreading propaganda in the towns. Doctors and nurses can give much-needed medical services and medicine. The businessmen and enlightened landlords pay taxes or give contributions and sometimes provide facilities to us.

When conditions are ripe, we must establish the organ of democratic political power along the line of the united front. We have already pointed out that the full establishment of the basic mass organizations in the barrio is the precondition for the establishment of the barrio revolutionary committee. In the period before the establishment of the barrio revolutionary committee, the functions of local self-government can be performed with the peasant organizing committee or the leading committee of the fully-organized peasant association hewing to the Party's united front policy. In the cities, we must continue the policy of winning the support of the student masses and their teachers by way of reaching and winning over the entire urban petty bourgeoisie. Upon the success of this policy, we can also win over the national bourgeoisie as they become aware that a strong anti-imperialist movement is advocating independence and national industrialization.

Elements of the national bourgeoisie in areas within the jurisdiction of the people's army have extended support to us. In the cities, there are also members of the national bourgeoisie who have extended support to us, especially through the student and youth movement.

In the principal conservative and reactionary organizations in the country, best exemplified by the political parties like the now dormant Nacionalista and Liberal parties, the urban petty bourgeoisie and the national bourgeoisie have been mere tails of the ruling classes -- the comprador big bourgeoisie and the landlord class.

This is true even in professional and civic organizations at the municipal, provincial and national levels. In the chambers of commerce and industry, the national bourgeoisie are also reduced to being mere tails of the big bourgeoisie and big landlords. We must form groups within these associations to consolidate the ranks of the national bourgeoisie and promote the national and democratic line.

The Preparatory Commission of the National Democratic Front and the regional united front commissions have projected and broadcast our united front policy; have succeeded in winning over groups and personalities who take the stand of the urban petty bourgeoisie and the national bourgeoisie and have established progressive underground groups, called national-democratic cells, within the most reactionary institutions and organizations. Some of these groups have helped us reach the basic classes that would otherwise be difficult to reach.

The aforesaid commissions have the special task of winning over the middle forces to the revolutionary cause and bringing to the main organization of the Party concrete assistance in reaching the basic forces of the revolution. Legal mass organizations and mass activities of a national-democratic character should be well undertaken. Close attention must be paid to this urgent task.

The door continues to be open widely for cooperation with those who are against the Marcos fascist dictatorship who may vary in degree of anti-imperialism and antifeudalism. We must unite with them but we must maintain our independence and initiative and we struggle with them on just grounds and with restraint all for the purpose of winning the hearts and minds of the people and advancing the revolutionary struggle.

The Lava revisionist renegades have long excluded themselves from the united front. By surrendering to the Marcos fascist dictatorship and actively participating in vicious counterrevolutionary actions, this handful of revisionist fascist criminals have become totally discredited even in the few small areas which they once boasted of as their bailiwicks. The Manglapus group, fancying itself as the "social democratic party", has also excluded itself from the united front by being no more than a tool of the Central Intelligence Agency.

As it is now taking shape, the main split among the reactionaries is between the Marcos fascist gang and an alliance ostensibly led by Macapagal. Though Marcos has a sizable number of agents within the interim national assembly and has limited its authority, especially under fascist martial rule, he refuses to convene it and intends to explicitly abolish it because he is afraid that it would become a forum for popular opposition.

Aware of Marcos' scheme, especially with Imelda already emerging as second-in-command and successor, Macapagal has called on the officers of the reactionary armed forces to make a countercoup and rule for a short period to pave the way for the convening of the interim national assembly. Obviously, he has already gotten the assurance of U.S. imperialism that he can openly lead the opposition loyal to the ruling system. The pushing out of certain inside men of the C.I.A. from Marcos ranks bears watching.

U.S. imperialism intends to be aggrandized, whichever direction events may take in the struggle between the Marcos and Macapagal factions. This single dominant power in the country wants two dogs to compete for the same reactionary purposes. The only difference there is from reactionary competitions before martial rule is the increasingly conspicuous role of the reactionary armed forces.

Under the circumstances, with both reactionary factions competing for the good graces of U.S. imperialism, it is clear that we become more determined to carry forward the national-democratic line against fascism, feudalism and imperialism and carry out the armed struggle relentlessly. As revolutionaries, we do not want to get bogged down in debates whether the Marcos constitution or the 1935 constitution is to be promoted. The point is to fight well the Marcos fascist dictatorship and the forces behind it and in the process carry the revolution forward.

A coup d'etat led by reactionary military officers can be as bad as or worse than the present Marcos fascist dictatorship even if it promises to pave the way for the interim national assembly. However, there is also the possibility that the coup d'etat will bring to power a civilian faction and really allows it to reverse Marcos' fascist excesses. We must be prepared for every possibility.

We must always remember that our united front work is in support of the revolutionary armed struggle. We must have reliable and long-term allies and we must also have unreliable and short-term allies. The most important thing is that we have allies to be able to reach, arouse, organize and mobilize the millions upon millions of people who are under various influences for the revolutionary cause.