In celebration of 107 years of the October Revolution, stand with the ongoing Philippine struggle for national and social liberation!
The principles and lessons of the Russian revolution under Lenin now serve as invaluable guidelines for the Philippine revolution and for all anti-imperialists world-wide.
The 1917 October revolution highlighted the importance of mobilizing the peasantry in anti-feudal democratic revolution. The Philippine revolution draws its strength from the alliance of the working class and the peasantry. In the countryside, the revolutionary mass organization of peasants (PKM) alongside the New People’s Army (NPA), under the proletarian leadership of the Communist Party of the Philippines, boldly advances the agrarian revolution and armed struggle. Together, they plant the seeds of a new revolutionary society, destroying the foundations of feudalism.
October also marks Peasant month in the Philippines. Land continues to be heavily concentrated in the hands of big landlords and businesses with less than a third of landowners controlling over 80% of agricultural lands in the country. The rural poor, composed mainly of peasants, farm workers and fisherfolks, comprise the majority of the Filipino people – more than 75 percent of the population – and face the brunt of the continuing economic, political and social crises.
They face landlessness, a backward agricultural system and catastrophic policies on agriculture, putting them at a harsh and disadvantaged position. Common land rent practices force peasants to surrender up to 70% of their harvests to landlords, perpetuating debt and poverty cycles. Forced displacement, usury and other forms of feudal exploitation in the countryside, leave little room for them to survive on.
The main content of the Filipino people’s democratic revolution is the struggle of the peasants to solve the land problem, advancing the democratic demand for free land for the tillers. This is essential to arousing the peasantry, which serves as the largest mass base for the revolution and is a primary source of red fighters for the NPA.
The Philippine revolution also wages a cultural revolution, promoting a pro-people, national, and scientific culture. The social oppression of women, especially in the countryside, is rooted in the semi-feudal and semi-colonial nature of the system. The revolutionary organizations of the peasants and women, such as PKM and MAKIBAKA, are established to ensure the organization of the peasant women and to break with the pre-existing feudal culture.
The landlord class are leeches of the Philippine society, along with the other ruling classes of Philippine society who only serve their own interests, and those of their imperialist masters. The peasants’ unity with the workers, and all the oppressed Filipino masses becomes a powerful force for national and social liberation.
Inspired by the October Revolution of 1917, the Philippine revolution carries forward its torch and deserves the full support of all anti-imperialists and peace-loving people worldwide.
