The acquittal of Amanda Echanis on trumped-up charges last January 14 is a victory of the people of Cagayan Valley and the Filipino people fighting for genuine democracy and national freedom. The people who have persisted in their resistance amidst deadly attacks of the fascist state on human rights, on the open mass movement and the revolutionary underground movement, have once again triumphed on proving that trumped-up charges will never curtail their struggle.

NDF-Cagayan Valley congratulates activist-poet Amanda Echanis for her immovable determination to prevail even in detention. Her poems, her running and winning a seat in the University of the Philippines Student Council is an inspiration. Amanda’s five years in detention because of trumped-up charges of illegal possession of high powered firearms and explosives filed against her by the Duterte regime, is a punishment of the ruling elite on the people struggling to change the rotten social system. Her prolonged detention bares the wrath of the ruling elite against activists working to change the system. A system that remains controlled by big foreign businesses and landlords.

It can be recalled that on a cold morning in December 2020, Amanda Echanis was arrested with her month-old baby in a farmer’s house in barangay Carupian, Baggao, Cagayan. Prior to this, Isabelo Adviento’s house in the same barangay was forcibly entered by elements of the 5th ID AFP and PNP Region 2 where they planted evidences of rifles and “explosives” to implicate Adviento. Both Echanis and Adviento are well-known farmer leader-organizers. Isabelo Adviento was released from prison earlier, but the ruling class despise activists. So again, he was charged with a trumped-up case of “terrorism financing” and an arrest warrant was immediately issued forAdviento along with four other well-known activists in the Cagayan Valley—Cita Managuelod, Jackie Valencia, Agnes Mesina and Deo Montesclaros.

The acquittal of both Echanis and Adviento, exposes the foul stench of the 5th ID of the AFP and NTF-Elcac. They are instruments of the ruling elite to hold back and paralyze the struggle of the people in Cagayan Valley. The people are fighting to change the rotten system that has tied poor farmers to landlessness, high loan interest, the flooding of imported agricultural products, including planting imported seeds of rice, corn and vegetables owned and controlled by foreign corporations. The rotten system has also forced them into purchasing expensive imported farm inputs of fertilizers and pesticides while farmgate prices of rice, corn and vegetables remain at very low prices. Marcos Jr. and other politicians are in cahoots with foreign businesses to keep agriculture backward and without genuine land reform. They are in cahoots with foreign mining companies to extract gold, silver and copper from our mountains at the cost of clearing forests, poisoning rivers and driving thousands of people out of their homes and farms.

The Philippine society is rotten to the core. Corruption in government permeates the system. The AFP, PNP and NTFElcac are protectors of the corrupt system. The reactionary state has denied many activists to be mothers, fathers, brothers and daughters by forcibly placing them behind iron bars of prison because of their determination to serve the oppressed classes.

This rotten system is maintained by and sustains imperialism, bureaucrat capitalism and feudalism. Let us further unite and broaden our ranks to overthrow it by advancing our democratic mass struggle. On top of it , by intensifying our armed struggle which will ultimately lead to the realization of our quest for genuine democracy and national freedom.

Free all political prisoners!
Down with the fascist state!