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By Roselle Valerio, Editor
Liberation International
26 August 2007
1.Gloria M. Arroyo speaks of using her remaining years in the
presidential palace to leave an unforgettable legacy. In your view,
what isgoing to be her legacy?
Prof. Jose Maria Sison (JMS): Her legacy is one of puppetry to
US
imperialism, aggravated underdevelopment, corruption, bankruptcy,
electoral fraud and gross and systematic human rights violations
with impunity.
2.Has Arroyo not achieved a relatively high economic growth rate?
Has
she not solved the financial crisis? Is she not laying the groundwork
for the Philippines to become a first world country?
JMS: The Arroyo regime has conjured the illusion of economic growth
by
engaging in unbridled foreign and local borrowing and by attracting
speculative portfolio investments. It has not at all solved the
financial
crisis but has aggravated it by increasing the debt and tax burden
in a
stagnant economy that is driven by over consumption of imports,
worst
of which are the luxuries of the exploiting classes.
The Arroyo regime has subserviently followed the US-dictated policy
of
“free market” globalization, rejected national industrialization
and
land reform and has thus aggravated the underdevelopment of the
Philippine economy.
The Philippine economy has become more dependent on raw-material
exports, on low value-added re exports and the export of live human
beings as cheap labor. It is always afflicted by a rising level
of trade deficit and government deficit spending for debt service,
the military and other counterproductive purposes.
Without national industrialization and land reform, it is impossible
for the Philippines to become a “first world country”. Arroyo insults
the intelligence of the people by uttering the silly lie that she
is
making the Philippines become a “first world” country through
mega-infrastructure projects and call centers.
3.The Arroyo regime is well-known for its subservience not only
to
the US policy of “free market” globalization but also to the Bush
policy of “global war on terror”. Can we expect any change in the
relations between the US and the Philippines in the next three years?
JMS: We cannot expect any change in the subservient relations of
the
Philippine government with the US government so long as the Arroyo
regime is in power. This regime will stick to the policy of “free
market” globalization even as the latest worsening of the crisis
of the US and world capitalist system is coming down hard on the
Philippines and the rest of East Asia.
The regime will also cling to the Bush global policy of terror
because
it believes that this is the way for getting military and other
forms
Of assistance from the US. It has a penchant for betraying the national
and democratic rights and interests of the Filipino people. It is
a
regime of treason, corruption, bankruptcy and brutality.
4. What is your response to the statement of National Security
Adviser
Norberto Gonzales that the cause of armed revolution is not poverty
but your ambition to become President of the Philippines through
armed
revolution?
JMS: The cause of armed revolution in the Philippines is not simply
poverty. It is the systematic imperialist and class exploitation
and
oppression of the Filipino people. I have had no ambition of becoming
President of the Philippines since I became a Marxist-Leninist in
1959.
Otherwise I would have remained in the exploitative system to nurture
a
self-interested political career, instead of facing tremendous odds
and
risking my life in the revolutionary struggle.
My ambition or aspiration is for the Filipino people to achieve
national liberation and democracy against US imperialism and the
local
exploiting classes of big compradors and landlords. I am pleased
that under the leadership of the working class the Filipino people
are building the mass organizations and organs of democratic political
power and are waging all forms of struggle to advance their revolutionary
cause.
5.There is a systematic attempt to misrepresent and demonize you
by
holding you responsible for the revolutionary actions of the New
People’s Army and even for the long-disproven allegation against
you regarding the 1971 Plaza Miranda bombing. Are your enemies merely
engaged in character assassination or preparing for your physical
assassination?
JMS: My political enemies are engaged in both character assassination
and setting me up for physical assassination. Since a long time
ago, I
have been targeted for assassination a number of times. Recently,
I have been receiving reports of plans to kill me by agents of the
Arroyo
regime. No less than the National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales
has announced in a cabinet meeting that a solution to the so-called
insurgency is my assassination. This is in line with the extrajudicial
killings being perpetrated with impunity under the Arroyo regime.
My enemies are amazing for their mendacity and stupidity in repeating
the lie that the CPP and I were responsible for the Plaza Miranda
bombing despite the 1994 resolution of the Manila city prosecutors
dismissing the complaint against the CPP and me as something based
on sheer speculation. My enemies are also amazingly mendacious and
stupid in blaming me for the revolutionary actions of the NPA despite
the fact that I have been out of the Philippines for more than 20
years. A number of prosecutors and judges have already dismissed
these complaints because of their patent falsity and the lack of
jurisdiction over me.
Since July 2007, no less than the Supreme Court has dismissed as
invalid the charge of rebellion and the hundreds of folders of supposed
evidence against me and 50 other individuals. The false charge and
supposed
evidence spanned the period from the founding of the CPP in 1968
to the
filing date of the charge in 2006. The invalidated evidence can
no
longer be used against me in any new charge.
6.Will there be stability or will there be further turmoil? Can
the
Arroyo regime survive until 2010? Can the amnesty proposal of Speaker
Jose de Venecia reverse the trend of instability and turmoil?
JMS: From year to year up to 2010, there will be increasing instability
and turmoil in the Philippines. The social and economic crisis will
worsen. So will the political crisis. There will be a sharpening
of the
contradictions among the reactionary political forces. The opposition
can take advantage of the self-defeating policies and actions of
the
regime and the rising wave of popular discontent. It will try to
prove its mettle by criticizing and condemning the regime.
Arroyo is already a lameduck because the years of her rule are
dwindling and because her crimes are putting her in a corner. She
might still be toppled by impeachment or otherwise as a consequence
of the mass movement or splits within the ruling coalition and reactionary
armed forces. She will face the strongest challenges probably sometime
next year.
The Arroyo regime will struggle hard to survive and avoid being
overthrown before 2010. It will also make sure that the successor
of Arroyo will protect her and her cohorts from being tried and
punished for their crimes in office. Even if Arroyo survives the
challenges, the
instability and turmoil will weaken the ruling system and will provide
the fertile conditions for the growth of the revolutionary forces.
What Speaker Jose de Venecia has proposed as amnesty for the
revolutionaries, the military rebels, the Moro freedom fighters
and others is so blatantly fake and cannot reverse the trend of
instability and turmoil. His proposal requires the amnesty beneficiaries
to admit guilt and undergo a process of registration and humiliation.
De Venecia is engaged in a psywar campaign to disarm and mislead
the opposition to the Arroyo regime. His proposal is also probably
intended to prepare for a proclamation by Arroyo – with the concurrence
of Congress – absolving herself and her cohorts of their crimes
against the Filipino people.
7.Arroyo has given orders to the military to destroy the
revolutionary movement led by the CPP, the Moro liberation movements
and the Abu
Sayyaf in the next three years. Can the military succeed?
JMS: According to CPP publications, the reactionary armed forces,
police and paramilitary forces failed under Oplan Bantay Laya to
destroy a single guerrilla front of the New People’s Army from 2002
to 2006. They are expected to fare worse under Bantay Laya II. Since
2004, the NPA has seized the initiative in launching tactical offensives
to defeat the blind-and-deaf strategic offensive of its enemy.
It appears that the Arroyo regime is no longer interested in pursuing
peace negotiations and in keeping the ceasefire agreement with the
Moro
Islamic Liberation Front and in maintaining the 1996 accord with
the
Moro National Liberation Front. There is a reliable report that
the US
and Philippine governments are of the common view that they have
gathered enough intelligence to try destroying both liberation forces.
But in fact both the US and Philippine military forces have
demonstrated their limitations and weaknesses by failing to destroy
the small bandit group Abu Sayyaf from 2002 to the present. They
have thus become the laughing stock of the world.
According to former President Ramos, the military forces of the
reactionary state are already fatigued and frustrated by the prolongation
and futility of Oplan Bantay Laya since 2002. The military officers
and enlisted personnel are already disgruntled and demoralized by
the Arroyo regime. They are now further being overstained and spread
thinly by having to fight the NPA and the armies of the MILF and
MNLF all at the same time.
8.Will the human rights situation in the Philippines worsen in
the
remaining years of the Arroyo regime? What is the consequence of
there
being the anti-terrorism law, the so-called Human Security Act of
2007?
What is the consequence particularly to you as one in the terrorist
blacklist of the US and other foreign governments?
JMS: The human rights situation will certainly worsen, especially
if
the Supreme Court does not declare the anti-terrorism law as
unconstitutional. But whether this law remains or not, the Arroyo
regime will apply even more brutally the policies, laws and campaigns
that have made possible the forced displacement of more than one
million people from 2001 to the present and the more than one thousand
victims of documented extrajudicial killings, abductions, torture
and other human rights violations inflicted on legal progressive
activists.
I have won a resounding victory in my case with the July 11, 2007
judgment of the European Court of First Instance against the decision
of the Council of the European Union blacklisting me as a “terrorist”
and freezing my financial assets. The court annulled the decision
for
violating my right to defense, for failing to provide a statement
of reasons and for infringing on my right to judicial protection.
But I still need to complete my legal victory by filing a new application
to the court against the June 28, 2007 decision of the Council of
the European Union retaining me in the blacklist.
The Arroyo regime is poised to proscribe me as a “terrorist”, unless
the petitions against the so-called anti-terrorism law are successful.
Meanwhile, it has become starkly clear to the world that the US
and other foreign governments have overstepped and violated Philippine
national sovereignty and jurisdiction by construing as acts of terrorism
those acts of rebellion under the Hernandez doctrine of political
offense in Philippine jurisprudence. The longer these foreign governments
blacklist me in an indefinite series of decisions, without reference
to any particular act of terrorism, the truth shall become clearer
than ever that I have been subjected to persecution.
9.Will there be a resumption of the formal talks in the GRP-NDFP
peace negotiations? If not, why?
JMS: It is extremely doubtful whether the formal talks in the GRP-NDFP
peace negotiations will ever be resumed during the remaining years
of
the Arroyo regime. Arroyo has already announced that she is out
to
destroy the CPP, NPA and NDFP within the next three years. She talks
more like a ruffian than even her chief butcher, AFP chief of staff
Esperon,who makes the more modest lie that the reactionary armed
forces can seek to reduce the NPA to an inconsequential level in
2010.
All along Arroyo and her cohorts have made clear that they are
not
interested in resuming the formal talks in peace negotiations and
addressing the root causes of the civil war in accordance with The
Hague Joint Declaration. They are interested merely in the capitulation
and pacification of the revolutionary forces under the pretext of
a prolonged ceasefire. The NDFP has rebuffed the Arroyo regime for
preconditioning the talks with prolonged ceasefire. Now, the regime
is claiming to approach the revolutionary forces at the local level
in order to secure localized ceasefires and split them from the
central leadership of the revolutionary movement.
10.Do you think that the revolutionary movement is capable of
delivering powerful blows on the Arroyo regime in the battlefield?
How?
JMS: More important than my opinion are the battle reports published
by
the Philippine Revolution Web Central (www.philippinerevolution.net)
which show that the NPA is capable of delivering powerful blows
on the
Arroyo regime in the battlefield. The NPA is taking the initiative
in
conducting ambushes, raids and arrest operations against its armed
opponents. It is thus increasing its armed strength by seizing arms
from its enemy.
The reports also show that the NPA is carrying out punitive operations
against the most notorious human rights violators, plunderers and
other
criminal offenders. The people have strongly demanded such punitive
operations because they are sick and tired of impunity. They have
also
proposed that beneficiaries of high crimes must also be punished
for
complicity and must not be allowed to perpetuate political dynasties.
The CPP has announced that the NPA is ready to carry out certain
actions against imperialist and big-comprador mining enterprises,
logging companies, agribusiness and real estate speculators for
engaging in landgrabbing and harming the people and the environment.
The worst of these anti-people entities are the immediate target
of dismantling operations by the NPA in order to satisfy the demands
of the people, frustrate the policy of the Arroyo regime to auction
off the natural resources in exchange for unbridled foreign borrowing
and to force the military and police to take purely defensive guard
duties and become stationary targets of NPA offensives.
11.What are the prospects of the revolutionary movement up to 2010?
JMS: Since the fall of Marcos, Arroyo has been the best recruiter
of
the NPA. So long as she is in power, she aggravates the socio-economic
and political crisis of the ruling system and drives the people
to rise
up in armed revolution. The CPP, the NPA, NDFP, the revolutionary
mass
organizations and the organs of political power are all expected
to grow in strength from year to year because of the Arroyo regime’s
anti-national and anti-democratic policies and actions.
12.What is your message to the Filipino people?
JMS: Only you, the Filipino people, can liberate yourselves by
waging
various forms of revolutionary struggle and doing away with the
system
of exploitation and oppression maintained by foreign monopoly
capitalism, domestic feudalism and bureaucrat capitalism. Consequently,
you can build a new Philippines that is truly and completely independent,
democratic, socially just, prosperous and peaceful.
The Arroyo regime is merely a brief passing phase in the downward
course of the moribund semi-colonial and semifeudal system. The
Filipino people and the revolutionary movement shall prevail through
the national democratic revolution led by the working class. ###
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