What kind of government makes sure that his armed forces always have new modern weapons while allowing generations of farmers and workers to still use hand tools in their production? None other than an anti-people and puppet state such as the one under the US-Marcos regime. Like all who came before him, this regime focuses on satisfying the mercenary AFP-PNP-CAFGU, the state’s top executioner, rather than the welfare and interests of the hundreds of millions of downtrodden Filipinos across the entire country.

Recently, another P375 million US aid wento to the acquisition of AFP’s modern weaponry. The arrival of the new Hermes 90 drones part of the country’s contract with Israel’s Elbit Systems costing a staggering P7.65 trillion was only just confirmed as well. If only the money that goes to these new weapons that are solely intended for widespread fascism and terrorism against the people be used for the nation’s most pressing needs, the regime will not have a shortage of items. There is the demand for P1,000 monthly ayuda for fisherfolks, the clamor for P750 wage increase for workers and government employees, P15,000 subsidy for farmers and many others.

Bikol’s situation does not differ from these conditions. The military wastes millions of funds for expansive and drawn-out operations, fake encounters and forced surrenderees. They have also been ceaselessly erecting new military, police and CAFGU detachments within communities while residents of those areas writhe in starvation and lack of livelihood. Unremittingly, there are funds for the military but none for the masses.

Aside from this, military occupation costs more in socioeconomic damages. As an example, residents in areas of Camarines Norte, Catanduances and Masbate where new detachments were constructed find themselves deprived of their right to move freely and do production work.

Even worse is the fascists’ brazen corruption of public funds. There is the scandal in the implementation of the Barangay Development Program of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) which is under Senate investigations even until now. Just a small percentage of the tens of billions of funds went to the actual projects. Another is the blatant corruption within the E-CLIP program wherein they declared to have spent P1.44 billion despite repetitive and exaggerated showcases of fake surrenderees and having just a few actual beneficiaries.

The people are aware why priorities of the US-Marcos regime are wildly skewed. As a puppet and representative of the ruling classes and imperialists, he needs to ensure the smooth implementation of policies favorable to the interests of his masters and fellow oppressors. To do this, he needs to silence all forms of struggle by way of fascist terrorism wreaked by his minions – one of them is the mercenary rank of the AFP-PNP-CAFGU.

But what the US-Marcos regime and all the other exploiters need to remember is that the history of the world itself proves that not the strength nor the volume nor the magnitude of force by things such as weapons can dictate vitory. Only the masses have the power to do this. And the Filipino people chooses to continue fighting until they attain genuine liberty, proeperity and peace.