B. Merger of the Communist Party and the Socialist Party
A merger was made between the Communist Party of the Philippines and the Socialist Party on November 7, 1938 after the leadership of the former was given conditional pardon by the Commonwealth government in accordance with the anti-fascist Popular Front policy. This merger came about with the assistance of James Allen, representative of the Communist Party of the USA. During this period, the Communist Party of the Philippines continued to be closely associated with the Browderite leadership of the Communist Party of the USA.
The open leadership elected by the merger congress was represented by Crisanto Evangelista as chairman, Pedro Abad Santos as vice-chairman and Guillermo Capadocia as general secretary.
The secret second line of leadership was represented by Vicente Lava whose time was mostly devoted to his full-time government employment at the Bureau of Science and whose political work was limited to leading a small progressive petty-bourgeois organization, the League for the Defense of Democracy. Lava epitomized Party members of petty-bourgeois origin who were under the influence of the Right opportunist Browderite leadership of the Communist Party of the USA. Other members of the secret second line of leadership were those who had had limited success in urban Party work, especially among petty-bourgeois elements, during the period that the Party was outlawed.
The Communist Party (merger of the Communist Party and Socialist Party) under the Evangelista leadership worked hard for a city-based anti-fascist movement, which advocated the boycott of Japanese goods and the creation of "labor battalions" under the auspices of a united labor front, the Collective Labor Movement, and with the cooperation of the Commonwealth government. Political work among the urban petty bourgeoisie was carried on by Vicente Lava. With the aid of Communist cadres, the erstwhile Socialist leaders tried to raise the political consciousness of peasants in Central Luzon, but this was given only secondary importance. The main bulk of Party work was done in the city by a city-based and city-oriented Party.
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