Memoirs of a Guerilla

Ka Uma, political officer, NPA Platoon
Contribution from MAKIBAKA

It was on the eve of the new millenium, in 1999, when I went to the countrysides on an integration program with the New People’s Army (NPA).

I was 20 years old then, a student at the university, and was already a member of the underground Communist Party of the Philippines. I realized that genuine change in our society could only come through a people’s revolution. I resolved to dedicate my life to serving the people as a red fighter.

In practice, however, it took me five years to convince myself that I could really be effective as a guerrilla fighter. Life in the countrysides was very difficult, and I had to fight off my desire for the conveniences of urban life, and for the comfort of  living in one’s own home.

Besides, I am a lesbian. I was wary of coming out in the beginning. I knew that the Party guaranteed everyone’s right to choose their sexual orientation. I had read “On the Relation of Sexes”—a document that spells out the Party’s principles on marriage, courtship and building a proletarian family, but I was still afraid of  ridicule and discrimination. Eventually, I fell in love with a female comrade, and we decided to come out.  it was awkward in the beginning. There was talk that some male comrades who had planned to woo either me or my partner were “frustrated”.  It became the subject of jokes among our comrades. After the prescribed period, our comrades arranged for our Party wedding. The marriage, however, ended a few years later when my partner suffered a trauma and eventually decided to leave the movement. I filed a case of divorce, which the Party granted after a series of talks to try to patch things up. A few years after, I fell in love with another female comrade. We got married in Party ceremonies. She remains my comrade and partner to this day.

Living with the masses was a source of great fulfillment for me.  It helped that  my first assignment was  an area where the barriofolk—even, and especially the women—have had years of experience with guerrilla war.  Years of abuse they had suffered when the military set up camp nearby have militated them for the struggle. Some of them had sons who have sacrificed their lives for the war. While we were their fighting army, they also served as our source of strength—they were our eyes and ears, and made our work of consolidating and expanding our revolutionary front relatively easy.

I steadily rose from the ranks, from being a new and inexperienced fighter to being a political officer of  the platoon.

The real test would come soon enough, however, when a large-scale military operation in the area resulted in a series of encounters with  enemy forces, wounding and killing a number of my comrades. I was overcome with grief for my comrades who fell, especially since it became clear that several weaknesses on our part—those who were in leadership positions—made us vulnerable to the attacks.

My comrades’ morale plunged, conservatism was high among us.  We lost some of our best comrades. I experienced a crisis of confidence, and refrained from volunteering for counter operations against the enemy, worried that my comrades would not have confidence in my military leadership.

It took quite some time, with the help of a series of assessments and criticism-self-criticism, presided over by some senior Party cadres, for many of us to overcome our desire to leave the revolution.  It was particularly hard for me, as both my parents were sick and very old, with no one to take care of them. I sought the help of comrades in the city and I also took a short leave to talk to my kin in our hometown. When my father died, I was able to visit his wake one evening. My relatives consoled me, saying I have no reason to feel guilty as I was doing something honorable, and  those words strengthened me when I went back to the countrysides. But the next blow came when my partner was captured in an encounter with enemy forces.

I knew I had to steel myself up. I was facing a personal crisis, yet I also knew that it was an urgent task to help raise my comrades’ fighting will. I prepared well for assessments and meetings in order to help my comrades get a good grasp of  our situation, our strengths as well as our weakness. I learned the importance of  getting a detailed and objective view of events in order to draw up lessons and better prepare for the work and battles ahead. Whenever possible, we went back to the sites of battles to analyze the circumstances and other important details. Through such painstaking process, we eventually were able to launch a string of successful tactical operations against the fascist military forces with the invaluable help of the organized masses in the area.

Being a Party member operating as a fulltime guerrilla fighter for many years, I am always conscious of the need for constant study, both in terms of constantly evaluating the situation, and relying on the teachings and writings of the great Marxist leaders to guide my practical work. Criticism-self-criticism sessions taught me to be more patient, especially when struggling out  ideas with comrades who are less experienced, and those who are wont to have a rather narrow view of the problems we face. This has not been easy, and I had been once severely criticized for an ultra-left handling of a comrade who sometimes made an issue of my gender, saying during arguments that  I was “only a woman”.  He eventually asked to be deployed to another work.

I am currently assigned to “guerrilla zone preparation”—which means that the revolutionary base is not yet established. This requires us to be very mobile, not only because of the military dangers but also because of the need to reach as many villages as possible in order to quickly build a revolutionary base. It also means carrying very heavy load everyday—anywhere between 10-15 kilos, excluding the guns assigned to us.

I remain unfazed, however. I remain fully convinced there is no way to liberate our people but through armed revolution. Also, things have become a lot lighter for me, as my partner is now back beside me,  having been released from prison through the help of friends and comrades in the city.

source: NDFP

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Defeat Imperialist Wars Through Revolution

Imperialism means war. Vladimir Lenin’s analysis finds renewed relevance today as US imperialism launches a relentless pursuit to redivide the world and gain access to strategic oil resources in the Middle East by waging a war of aggression against Iran.

Barely a month since the US and Zionist Israel first attacked Tehran on February 28, at least 2,000 civilians have already been killed amid their escalating bombardments. In neighboring Lebanon, Israeli missile strikes have likewise resulted in mass casualties and widespread displacement. At least 1,450 civilians, including more than 100 children have been killed in Israel’s attempt to invade and occupy Southern Lebanon.

In response to US-Israeli attacks, Iran has carried out calibrated missile and drone attacks on US military bases across the region such as Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Despite being at a disadvantage, Iran continues to fiercely defend its independence. Contrary to Trump’s desire to incite an uprising to overthrow the current anti-US government and install a puppet state, millions of Iranians and their allies are now even more united, pouring into the streets to denounce US military aggression. Iran has every right to defend itself against US attacks and is justified in its measured military responses.

In contrast, madman Trump’s warmongering posture and his brazen support for Israel has isolated him in the world stage. The supposedly “solid” NATO imperialist military alliance has shown signs of fracturing as multiple European states such as Spain, France, and Italy have distanced themselves from US demands to support the ongoing attacks against Iran. Even Trump’s own counterterror chief Joe Kent also resigned from his post decrying how “Iran posed no imminent threat” to the US. Trump used Iran’s supposed nuclear threat as a pretext to attack the nation and assassinate its leader Ali Khamenei and other top security officials, mistakenly assuming that the death of its officials would lead to regime change.

Trump is increasingly isolated from the broad masses of the American people, whose daily concerns from the rising costs of living, lack of access to healthcare, to rampant ICE deportations and killings, stand in sharp contrast to the priorities reflected in the war he initiated. Far from enjoying unified support, large sections of the population have expressed skepticism, frustration, and outright opposition to Trump.

Trump’s insatiable drive to exert control over Iran reveals the fundamental contradiction of monopoly stage capitalism. In seeking control over oil resources and deliberately depleting the energy sources that flow to its imperialist rival China, the US has triggered a global economic crisis.

Prof. Jose Maria Sison correctly pointed out how “the US will continue to generate crisis in the world capitalist system” and how this worsening crisis will inevitably lead “to the escalation of state terrorism and wars of aggression.” He further notes that “the imperialist powers continue to band together to shift the burden of the crisis to the working people and the underdeveloped countries.”

Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz, where 20 percent of the world’s energy resources pass through, to the US. This move, in turn, has triggered higher oil prices, causing increased transportation and production costs. Supply chains which have already been strained by years of consecutive crisis, became even more fragile. Financial markets have reacted with instability, and governments scramble to manage the fallout.

The Philippine semicolonial and semifeudal economy, heavily dependent on imported fuel, has been particularly exposed. As oil prices spike due to the conflict, transport workers are unable to eke out a living; farmers now face higher input costs; workers see real wages eroded while small businesses struggle to survive. The burden falls heavily on the working class and peasantry, who have the least capacity to absorb such economic shocks.

The bureaucrat capitalist Marcos Jr. regime remains deaf to the worsening conditions of the Filipino people and continues to impose heavier burdens on the masses. Instead of protecting the public from soaring fuel prices, Marcos Jr. colludes with the oil cartel to allow unregulated price hikes consistent with the Oil Deregulation Law. Instead, Marcos Jr. offers token measures such as limited subsidies, short-term aid, and occasional “free rides.” Even the proposed four-day workweek is in reality a means for corporations to further squeeze daily wage earners who can least afford reduced incomes.

Even as millions of Filipino migrants in the Middle East face heightened danger amid escalating war, Marcos Jr. has proven incapable of ensuring their safety. At home, the regime calls for “belt-tightening” from a population already struggling to survive, while it indulges in lavish expenditures abroad. Billions of public funds are squandered on joint military exercises like Balikatan that could otherwise address urgent social needs. Amid all these, fascist repression persists, targeting the revolutionary forces and the mass movement whose resistance continues to grow in the face of deepening crisis.

Prof. Sison reminds us yet again that these conditions of multiple crises “cause political turmoil within the ruling system and incite the people to wage all forms of resistance.” The chronic crisis inherent in the semicolonial and semifeudal order and the simmering anger of the Filipino people creates the most fertile ground to organize and mobilize the masses in their millions.

The Filipino people must unite and collectively fight for their welfare amid war and deepening crisis, strengthen calls to end US aggression in Iran while supporting the Iranian people’s defense of national sovereignty. They must resist the use of the Philippines as a springboard for imperialist wars by calling for the dismantling of EDCA bases and other foreign military facilities, and the abrogation of unequal treaties that bind the country to US imperialist interests. At the same time, urgent economic demands must be advanced: the rollback of oil prices, repeal of the Oil Deregulation Law, removal of Value Added Tax (VAT) and other burdensome taxes, and salary increases to address the soaring cost of living. The just demands of jeepney drivers and operators for fare increases must also be supported as part of the broader struggle to defend the livelihood and welfare of the working masses.

In the final analysis, the US-Israeli war on Iran and the crisis that it creates presents an objective basis for the upsurge of our revolutionary struggle against imperialism, feudalism and bureaucrat capitalism. As the revolutionary movement celebrates the 57th anniversary of the New People’s Army, we are reminded of the historic mission to advance the people’s democratic revolution by carrying out protracted people’s war. Winning the national democratic revolution is the biggest contribution of the Filipino people to the world proletarian struggle against imperialism and all reaction.

source: Liberation News