Friends of the Filipino People in Struggle (FFPS) members successfully participated in the 2025 Resist NATO campaign and its culminating people’s counter-summit on June 21 and subsequent mobilizations on June 22 and 24. Together with the other participants they were able to challenge the US and NATO narrative of aggression, while also promoting the justness and importance of the Filipino people’s democratic revolution.
The Resist NATO 2025 campaign, a global education and mobilization campaign, was held in the lead-up to the 76th NATO Summit in the Netherlands, and united proletarian parties, anti-imperialist mass organizations, pro-peace advocates and other individuals and organizations in a mass undertaking to resist NATO and directly confront the NATO Summit in 2025.
In the months leading up to the NATO summit, FFPS developed a primer explaining NATO’s role as a US tool in the Asia-Pacific and the Philippines. It further contributed in webinars organized by the Resist NATO campaign on NATO and the Rise of the Far Right, and NATO Military Base Expansion Around the World, while also organizing its own webinar on Europe’s complicity in US-led Militarism in the Philippines. Members around the world also developed propaganda, held educational events, and mobilized against US-NATO and in support of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) on April 26.
During the people’s assembly the FFPS delegation provided several volunteers that helped the ensure a secure, smooth and well-documented summit. In the first block of workshops it organized a workshop on “Building solidarity with the Filipino people’s struggle for self-determination and liberation”. The workshop started with presentations on the US and Europe’s pivot to Asia by Victor Garces from the International League of People’s Struggle (ILPS), the realities of counterinsurgency in the Philippines and how the Filipino people fight back for national and social liberation by NDFP-Europe representative Mia Esperanza, and on the importance of international solidarity with the struggle in the Philippines by FFPS Global Coordinator Eevee Garcia.
The talks were followed by seperate discussions in 3 break-out groups. The first break-out group focussed on building a movement to counter the US & Europe pivot to the Philippines. The second group discussed on ways to build solidarity with the Filipino people against counterinsurgency in the Philippines. The third break-out groups’ focus was on asserting the legitimacy of the Filipino people’s revolution, including the task of campaigning for the de-listing of the Communist Party of the Philippines and New People’s Army from the European Union terrorist list.
A common theme that came up amongst all groups was the need to connect with other and learn from each others’ struggles. The discussions in the break-out groups led to concrete action points for the participants to take up, such as to connect further through various media and to work together in further actions.
The next day FFPS members joined the 5000-strong main mobilization against NATO in The Hague, bringing forward the militant call to Resist NATO and to support the Filipino struggle for a Just and Lasting Peace. Closing the main militant activities of the campaign, FFPS joined the Block NATO party in The Hague on June 24. Through its stand with informational materials, stickers, and other propaganda materials it was able catch the interest of local activists and link up with other organizations.