The savage Duterte has the audacity to profess that the greatest thing he ever achieved during his whole term is to modernize his armed forces. The bungling president did not even cringe as he declared that it is his legacy to put his mercenaries’ satisfaction before the welfare of the hundreds of millions of Filipinos who die every day from starvation and destitution.

In the name of the fascist AFP-PNP modernization, he deprived the people of socioeconomic support such as the allocation of adequate funds to develop agriculture that could have ensured the public food security. He refused to distribute satisfactory ayuda for individuals who lost their jobs during the multiple lockdowns and during natural calamities. He gave all his attention to killing innumerable ordinary citizens he doggedly brands as addicts, pushers, terrorists, NPA supporters or members. This is the only true legacy Duterte will imprint upon Bikol and the whole country – to kill the masses from bullets and from hunger.

How many billions have he already spent acquiring the bullets that have slain the masses? Bullets that have killed the 233 Bikolanos during nanlaban-patay, NPA-kaya-pinatay, FMO and RCSP operations he ordered to slither across the region. How many billions have he turned to ash with the bombs he dropped and deluged on communities, including the four incidents in Camarines Sur and Masbate?

While fulfilling his fascist domination, Duterte is also glutting the military-industrial complex of his US imperialist masters and other capitalist countries manufacturing and selling modern and advance military weapons.

However, despite the mass destruction that these modern weapons could cost civilian communities and guerilla zones alike, Duterte is grimly mistaken to assume that this would be enough to cow the people and make them falter in their struggle. Every day, the masses and comrades realize the truth in comrade Mao Zedong’s reminder – “The decisive force is the people, not mere objects.” This has been proven time and again all through the long-standing histories of small and relatively weak countries that have triumphed over giant invaders and powerful countries.

There will never be any weapon so powerful that can dull the golden struggle of the people and the Red army. This gold shall only shine brighter as it is honed through the embers of war.