Robert Reid | Chairperson FFPS
Friends of the Filipino People in Struggle (FFPS) extends its highest salute to the 10 revolutionaries who were martyred in a sustained military operation by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on the island of Panay over the past two weeks. We are deeply saddened to learn about the reports that among the martyred was Concha Araneta, a 73-year-old NDF representative in Panay and NDF peace consultant.
The island of Panay has faced escalating militarization, particularly following Duterte’s Executive Order No. 70, which established the NTF-ELCAC and implemented the “whole-of-nation-approach”, and Memorandum Order No. 32, which increased military deployment in the region. This trend of militarization and the accompanying violence against the masses have continued under the current US-Marcos regime.
The recent International People’s Tribunal (IPT) specifically denounced the Tumandok Massacre in 2020 in Panay as a war crime committed by US imperialism and its local allies, where nine Indigenous Tumandok leaders were extrajudicially killed by AFP forces. Rural communities in Panay, especially the Tumandok, have suffered continuous fascist attacks, including hamletting by the AFP. The AFP’s intensive military operations over the past two weeks have brought further extreme violence and violations of international humanitarian law. Reports by Human Rights organizations indicate that there were attacks on peasants’ livelihoods, withholding of the remains by the AFP and that at least six of the martyred revolutionaries bore injuries which suggest the possibility of torture, cruel treatment, and summary execution.
The AFP’s counterinsurgency operations, falsely dubbed ‘counter-terrorism’, are in fact a terror campaign against the Filipino people who are struggling for liberation from foreign domination, landlord exploitation and a corrupt fascist state. The revolution remains as valid as ever, since these basic problems to Philippine society remain present.
Why else would thousands of Filipinos answer the call to go to the countryside and serve the masses in an armed revolution, if not because they clearly see the oppressive and exploitative nature of foreign domination and local reaction? The semi-colonial and semi-feudal system holds no viable future for the majority of the Filipino people. Even though the US-Marcos regime likes to pretend and propagate that the Filipino people in struggle are either foolish or brainwashed, those who join the armed struggle are among the bravest, sharpest, and willing to sacrifice their lives in order to serve the people. And their deaths weigh heavier than all the mountains in Panay, as they gave their lives for the liberation of the Filipino people and of all oppressed.
Those of us who met ka Concha when she was overseas to participate in the peace negotiations as NDF consultant, remember her as warm, dedicated and with good humour. She gave her whole life to the revolution, and to all of us from FFPS, she is a shining example of the resilience, compassion and revolutionary spirit of the Filipino people in their struggle for national and social liberation.
As US imperialism and its allies escalate violence, especially against those engaged in national liberation struggles, it is of the utmost urgency for all of us to strengthen our solidarity with oppressed peoples. We know that the Philippine ruling classes and their US imperialist overlords will not relinquish their wealth and power voluntarily. They willingly wage war not only on the Filipino people who resist their rule but on all basic classes of Philippine society. But the Filipino people demonstrate that revolution is the only solution. Sacrifice is an inevitable part of this struggle, and to honor those who have given their lives, we must intensify our own efforts.
For us, the best way to honor the martyrs is to strengthen our commitment, our revolutionary optimism and our all-rounded solidarity to the Philippine revolution. Let us ensure that for every martyr, a hundred solidarity activists take up the work of supporting the Filipino people and their just revolution. As we approach our Global Day of Action on August 26, which would have been ka Concha’s 74th birthday, let us pay tribute to the martyrs of the Philippine revolution with our most extensive global effort, demonstrating our unwavering commitment to support the Philippine revolution. The Filipino people’s revolution still grows stronger and we continue to support it until liberation!
Let us be brave like Ka Concha and all other martyrs, and all the fighting Filipino masses and stir up and spread the flames of solidarity with the Philippine revolution all around the world!
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