REPOST: LABAN NG MASA: STATEMENT AGAINST THE RISING FASCIST ATTACKS OF THE DUTERTE REGIME AND THE NEED TO DEFEND HUMAN RIGHTS

Laban ng Masa, as a socialist political center, vehemently condemns the recent arrest of Satur Ocampo and 74 other people including teachers and volunteers under the charges of trafficking children. These trumped up and bogus charges are nothing but attempts of the regime to deter and intimidate progressive forces in the country. Laban ng Masa also condemns the arrest of Rey Casambre and his wife two nights ago after visiting the wake of a comrade: they were ridiculously charged for “illegal possession of explosives.” Rey Casambre is a peace talks consultant of the National Democratic Front (NDF).

 

Laban ng Masa stands in solidarity with our comrades against these efforts to undermine progressive democratic forces. We affirm the belief that in the midst of this reactionary state, the greater enemy to fight resides in the comforts of power and capital. It is today that we uphold the principle that our struggle is one that is shared—especially amidst a looming fascist regime led by this regime.

It is in this sense that we must emphasize that Ka Satur was made to be the first among others: an example to be made if one would cross this regime. Ka Satur’s arrest remains only to be a symptom of a larger, and a more systemic aspect of the Duterte Regime.

 

This is not the first time that a crackdown on progressives has happened within this regime. However, these attacks on progressives, while pressing, are only parts and fragments of the larger agenda that started earlier on with the landmark campaign promise to end the problem of drugs plaguing our communities. The isolation tactics of the regime were first witnessed through the relentless and blatant use of state-sanctioned violence towards vulnerable groups like the drug dependents. Today, we have seen the effects of the drug war: a nation with a worn-out mass movements and thousands of lives lost in the process. This, we believe and reiterate, is too steep of a price for “change.”

 

These attacks on progressives are not, in any way, different nor remote. It is merely a display of the extent of control of this regime over its people. We, at all costs, must not be disheartened in the face of attempts at repression. If anything, these efforts of the regime should embolden us to stand together amidst this burgeoning crisis.

 

We at Laban ng Masa find that the only way to counter these intense repression is to stand against ongoing oppressions of peoples. The people of the Philippines face conditions that are often forgotten and willfully neglected by the government. To this end, we find that the “fruits” and results of the liberal democratic regime as elitist and insufficient. Formal democratic institutions do not and will not suffice for the needs of the people as long as the state continually conspires with the the capitalists. It is a disservice to see the ongoing oppression of peoples while still striving to maintain the current democratic space. The increasing development aggression in the area is indicative that not only more and more communities are being militarized, but that militarization is endorsed and enabled precisely because the interests of the drive for profit trumps all others.

 

This leads us to recognize that even within the country, there are still existing class struggles that must be confronted. This struggle is not separated from the continuous US imperialist interventions in the Philippines, thus pressuring the fascist Duterte Regime to align with China’s regional external pressures— which still remain neoliberal in scope. We live in an elitist democracy that only seeks to preserve a world order that disenfranchises the majority. We have seen the regime favoring neoliberal economic policies that favor foreign investors over development that is mass movement-led, much like the Build-Build-Build program, which among its projects are funded by China-based loans.

 

We find ourselves in highly precarious situations in which we are slowly being subsumed under a world order that increases the exploitation of workers, peasants, IPs, women, and other sectors and layers of society. The institutions we have built post-EDSA has enabled the rise of the reactionary state: a state that is repressive, oppressive, and exploitative. That instead of our institutions to be used for the well-being of peoples, it merely facilitates their continued exploitation.

 

The reactionary state is the character of the fascist Duterte Regime. The orchestrated machinations of the regime are far too contrived to be whims of an unpredictable figurehead. What truly runs this country goes beyond the fascist Duterte—the elites, the oligarchs, the capitalists, who have been given far too many opportunities to reap off the hard work of millions of Filipinos. This fascist Duterte Regime is a dictatorship of the capitalists. Satur Ocampo’s arrest is but the brunt of the ongoing militarization, aggravated by the imposition of Martial law, which has created tensions even within indigenous communities.

 

Laban ng Masa immediately demands to drop charges against Satur and 74 others. We demand to demilitarize indigenous communities lands, that only bring about conflict and stifle their right to self- determination. We demand the lifting of Martial Law in Mindanao that continues to enable militarization and conflict to foster in these communities. Given this, Laban ng Masa strongly opposes the AFP-PNP joint declaration to extend Martial Law in Mindanao for another year until December 31, 2019. Laban ng Masa immediately calls for the rescindment of Memorandum Order No. 32 (MO 32) because it is a fascist ploy to widen a de facto form of martial law nationwide beyond Mindanao’s de jure Martial Law scope. MO 32 is being justified by the Duterte Regime as a state instrument to repress “all enemies of the state.”

 

We at Laban ng Masa emphasize the need to unite in the political struggle against fascism. This is the way we envision our way forward. Repression is repression regardless of political lines. We must build a movement that sees unity in the shared struggle. This is the only way to build solidarity among peoples, among groups.

 

We at Laban ng Masa reaffirm our commitment towards our struggle for socialism. We uphold the belief that at the end of the day, the socialist struggle is the answer to begin reimagining a world beyond a capitalist mode of production. We must strive towards a world where production is not contingent on the exploitation of the working class. We must strive for a world, that through and through, recognizes the multifacetedness of oppression and ends in all forms. We remain true to the promise of building an alternative, for the revolution will not happen overnight. It is a process of becoming, of comings and goings. We remain in solidarity in struggle.

 

For interviews and other inquiries, please contact Rasti Delizo, Laban ng Masa National Coordinator, at 0921 741 5800.

Origin: https://web.facebook.com/notes/laban-ng-masa/statement-against-the-rising-fascist-attacks-of-the-duterte-regime-and-the-need-/769841506710326/