An analysis by
the Communist Party of the Philippines reflecting on electoral success of the
progressive party list Bayan Muna in last year’s congressional elections:
The
participation and victory of a number of progressive forces in the recent
electoral struggle have opened up an additional arena for airing the people's
national-democratic interests and advancing mass struggles.
Although
progressives have achieved some significant gains in the recent party list
elections (and in winning a few low-ranking local positions), reactionaries
continue to enjoy decisive dominance over elections for the senate, district
representatives, governor, mayor and other positions in local government.
The party list
system purportedly aims to provide representation in congress to marginalized
sectors of the people. Towards this end, 20% of congressional seats are
allotted to representatives of elected parties.
In actuality,
the party list system is an added instrument of the ruling class to coopt
leaders and progressive organizations to become ensnared in parliamentarism,
share in the corruption and privileges accorded by the reactionary system and
abandon their stand for genuine social change.
Despite the
measly 20% reserved for marginalized sectors, corrupt politicians and parties
representing the reactionary ruling class nonetheless tried to grab it for
themselves by fielding their own errand boys in the party list elections. Many
participants in the party list elections in May were of this sort. Among them
were those supported and funded by the state (MAD, VFB, COCOFED, APEC,
NATCO-COOP), big political parties of the ruling classes (Lakas-NUCD, NPC, PMP,
LDP, LP, Promdi, Aksyon Demokratiko, True Marcos Loyalists, Osme¤a), big
business (CREBA) and big religious sects (CIBAC, BUHAY). A number of them (MAD,
VFP, Lakas-NUCD, NPC, APEC and CIBAC) dominated the party list elections.
Progressive organizations and the democratic mass movement vigorously objected
and successfully blocked them from taking seats in congress reserved for party
list representatives. This was achieved through mass actions and the tactic of
filing a case in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court clarified that only
parties and organizations that genuinely represented marginalized sectors of
the people were qualified to join the party list elections. The COMELEC was
obliged to accredit only three so far - Bayan Muna, Akbayan and Butil - among
those that actually garnered 2% or more of the total party list votes cast.
Progressives and
genuine representatives of marginalized sectors are minuscule in number
compared to the more than 200 representatives of the reactionary ruling classes
in congress. Worse, only about a dozen of the 52 seats reserved for party list
representatives have been filled up in the last two party list elections.
In any case, the
reactionaries failed to thwart the people's strong support for and the
unequivocal victory of, Bayan Muna, a progressive party. This, despite brazen
poll fraud, harassment and vote buying by reactionary organizations who ran in
the party list elections. Through its more than 1.7 million votes, Bayan Muna
posted a big lead over other party list candidates, including extensions of
corrupt politicians and their political parties, others who outrightly embodied
the interests of the reactionary ruling class, pseudo-revolutionary parties and
reformist groups. This meant that three representatives of Bayan Muna would
take their seats in congress.
The public is
still largely unaware of the party list. Not even half of those who voted in
the recent polls voted in the party list elections. The big number of votes
garnered by Bayan Muna mainly came from its wide base among the toiling masses
and support from the middle forces who participated in and advanced EDSA 2.
Through its well-conducted alliance work, it was able to raise added resources,
broaden its linkages in provinces, districts, municipalities and cities, gain
additional votes and thwart poll fraud. Other candidates garnered far fewer
votes, except for MAD.
Although they
have also been able to win party list seats, the narrow organizational base and
influence on the people of Anakbayan and Sanlakas and other
pseudo-revolutionary organizations have also become manifest.
In the case of
Sanlakas, it has been isolated from the mainstream of the anti-Estrada movement
as far back as the latter part of 2000, with its advancement of its
"Resign All" slogan. AMIN, another pseudo-revolutionary organization
in Mindanao, bought votes but failed to attain the requisite 2%.
Despite the
victories of progressive forces in the electoral arena, strengthening the mass
movement both in the cities and countryside remains the key to advancing the
people's democratic demands. Advances in electoral and parliamentary struggle
are part of the overall advance and strengthening of the progressive and
revolutionary forces. It is our objective to accelerate and comprehensively
advance and strengthen all parallel arenas of revolutionary struggle.
The actions
within parliament of representatives of the progressive and democratic mass
movement and the people should not be divorced from the mass movement. They can
only be effective representatives of the people within the reactionary
parliament if they maintain tight relations with the democratic mass movement
outside. They must remain focused on the agenda of the people and the mass
movement even as they utilize the methods of parliament.
It is the
primary task of progressive forces within parliament to expose the reactionary
congress and the reactionary state in general by advancing people's issues and
struggles against imperialism, feudalism and bureaucrat capitalism. They must
not be used to deodorize or redeem the decadent and moribund system.
It is also an
important task for them to be alert to, and vigorously resist, the temptations
of parliamentarism and the corrupt political system.
There are clear
limitations to, and boundaries in, what the progressive forces can do within
parliament. Because congress is a parliament of reaction and reactionaries, it
will not pass laws that would be detrimental to the basic interests and
continued class dominance of the reactionary ruling classes. Nonetheless,
progressives within congress, in cooperation with mass actions outside the
latter, must thoroughly fight for the passage of laws and programs that would
provide the people even a modicum of relief. They must serve as the voice of
the oppressed people resisting the deterioration of their livelihoods and the
trampling of their democratic rights.
State
suppression of progressive forces is also a glaring reality. The continued
escalation of the armed conflict between the revolutionary forces and the
state's armed forces and the unrelenting intensification of the crisis gripping
the reactionary ruling system are further pushing the enemy to tighten its
surveillance and intensify its harassment and attacks against progressive
political parties and the revolutionary mass movement. Even now, the
reactionaries are relentlessly maligning and harassing Bayan Muna. AFP
propagandists and psywar experts have been insinuating that Bayan Muna is
allegedly a mere front of the Communist Party of the Philippines. Newspapers
have also reported that the US' local henchmen have already fielded hit squads
that would target leaders of the open democratic movement, including the party
list representatives.
Progressives
have a very small niche. The same goes for what they have been able to achieve
in the electoral and parliamentary struggle. Reactionary elections are a
political arena tightly controlled by the reactionary ruling classes. They are
characterized by the widespread and absolute reliance of reactionary
politicians and parties on violence, money, deception and fraud to win. In the
face of all this, the effort and success of some progressives to win seats in
the reactionary parliament manifest a level of capability among the
revolutionary and democratic forces to likewise use the enemy's instruments and
arena against him and to attain benefits for the movement and the people. It
has been demonstrated that these victories may be surpassed in the future,
along with the further advance of armed struggle and the mass movement.
On the other
hand, the reactionary elections and parliament cannot be decisively used by the
revolutionary forces and people to seize political power and obtain fundamental
changes for the people's welfare. Armed revolution remains the only means for
the revolutionary movement and the people to overthrow the reactionary and
corrupt ruling system. Armed struggle and the mass movement are essential and
more primary compared to electoral and parliamentary struggle. Along with such
efforts and victories in electoral and
parliamentary struggle, it is likewise necessary to further clarify to the
people the undeniable need to advance armed struggle and expand and deepen the
revolutionary mass movement in the cities and countryside.
Ang Bayan July
2001