Pahayagan ng Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas ANG Pinapatnubayan ng Marxismo-Leninismo-Maoismo English Edition Vol. L No. 14 July 21, 2019 www.cpp.ph EDITORIAL Fight for genuine freedom! End Duterte's reign! he people must ardently fight and end the reign of ist system remains unresolved, these contradictions the national traitor Duterte. The future of the en- and its impact on the Philippines and other semi- tire nation and the life of every Filipino are at stake colonies and will intensify. Tunder his unrelenting subservience to imperialist powers. Leading imperialist powers, especially the US which Duterte seems to have offered the seas and natural re- remains as the most powerful due to its vast military ma- sources of the country at the altar of China in exchange for chinery dispersed across the globe, are at the center of fat contracts which he and his fellow bureaucrat capitalists these contradictions. Various imperialist powers are rig- profit from. On the other hand, he further strengthened US orously challenging the dominance of US, especially Rus- control of the Philippines as a large military base in ex- sia in the military field, and China in the economic field. change for its continuous military aid for his brutal and In its desperation to arrest its internal economic terroristic "counter-insurgency" and "anti-drug" wars. crisis, the US is bustling to revive its hegemony. As he benefits from these, Duterte is deaf to the The US resists the emerging division of the world clamor of the people to fight for genuine freedom and (in the fields of military and trade) among imperialists defend the interest of the country in the face of two ri- under which its spheres of control are being reduced. valling imperialist superpowers. If Duterte remains in Historically, the Philippines has always been impor- power, foreign domination, the chronic crisis, and the tant in the geopolitical strategies of imperialist countries. fascist supression of the national democratic move- It is sought after by global powers as it is located along ment in the Philippines will certainly intensify. major trade routes, especially that going to and from the The situation in the Philippines is firmly intercon- Indian Ocean, and East and Southeast Asia. nected with the current global situation which is beset In the past more than a century, the US imposed by intensifying contradictions among imperialist pow- its control over the Philippines, firstly through direct ers in the fields of economy and trade, diplomacy, poli- colonization, and later on, through indirect control. US tics and military. While the crisis of the global capital- military bases in the Philippines are used as spring- board for deploying military troops products from China. At present, trade activities in the South China in wars of aggression from Vietnam China is threatened by a produc- Sea. China saw the need to to the Middle East, and also for ex- tion slow down due as it has satu- strengthen its presence and influ- panding its market for American rated the market with overpro- ence in the Philippines amid its in- products in Asia, especially in duced commodities and capital. In tensifying rivalry with the US. This is China. Almost three decades have an attempt to mitigate the crisis it why it is aggressively asserting its passed since these bases were dis- is beset in, China is expediting its control and claim over vast maritime mantled, but up to the present, exportation of capital in the form territories at the western side of the hundreds of American troops are of loans and extensive infrastruc- Philippines, exploiting aquatic re- permanently stationed in the ture construction. sources and constructing their mili- Philippines and their exclusive fa- As part of these desperate tary facilities in the said area. cilities in AFP camps continue to schemes, China has increased its The Philippines is caught be- multiply. presence in the Philippines over tween two clashing imperialist gi- The subsumption of the Philip- the past years, particularly ants. The Filipino people should pines to the colonial and semicolo- through exploiting the mineral and carry their struggle forward for nial domination of the US is the other natural resources of the genuine freedom from US control biggest hindrance to the develop- country. China is competing with and the intrusion of China. ment and advancement of the the US and other capitalist powers This struggle is currently fo- country. The economy of the in depleting the resources of the cused on fighting against the na- Philippines is dominated by Ameri- Philippines. Simultaneously, it is tional traitor Duterte. He must be can corporations and is directed by pouring in infrastructure projects opposed and held accountable for the USAID, IMF-WB, and US banks loans used to purchase its over- his contempt of the freedom and and finance institutions. produced cement and steel. sovereignty of the Philippines. China emerged as a capitalist China acknowleges that the First, his surrender of the superpower since the beginning of Philippines is a US military strong- rights of the Philippines in the 2000s. It used its hundreds of mil- hold which the latter uses as its South China Sea, including the sov- lions of cheap laborers to absorb seaport and airport, and a launch ereign right to the country's productive capital, especially those pad of its war vessels and materiel. "exclusive economic zone" must be from the US. Later on, the world For a long period, the US used the denounced. He must also be held market was flooded with cheap Philippines to dominate and control accountable for corruption and en- riching himself through anomalous ANG Contents agreements and loan contracts. Simultaneously, Duterte's sub- servience to US imperialism must be Editorial: Fight for genuine freedom! End exposed as the foremost imperialist Vol L No. 14 | July 21, 2019 Duterte's reign! 1 power in the Philippines, especially Legislative agenda for liberalization 3 that it is attempting to use big mass Ang Bayan is published protests against China to conceal in Pilipino, Bisaya, Iloko, US tightens hold of PH 4 or justify the intensification of its Hiligaynon, Waray and English. intervention and use of the Philip- Ang Bayan welcomes Workers mount #PayDayProtest 4 pines for its military interests. contributions in the form NPA harasses 63rd & 87th IB 4 Duterte must be opposed and of articles and news items. held accountable for paving the way Readers are encouraged Writ of kalikasan 5 for the increased presence of US to send feedback and military forces in the country recommendations Suspension order vs. Lumad schools 5 through the Operation Pacific Eagle- for improving our newspaper. Impact of rice liberalization 5 Philippines, and the increasing num- instagram.com/progressiveviews ber of joint exercises and maneuvers Rift in Duterte alliance widens 6 of the US military in the Philippines. @prwc_info We must fight the imposition of the Prevailing civil-military junta 7 [email protected] US to change the 1987 constitution Villagefolk foil abduction attempt 8 to completely liberalize the economy of the country to the benefit of for- eign big capitalists, whether Ameri- Ang Bayan is published fortnightly by the Central Committee can or Chinese. This is being carried of the Communist Party of the Philippines "Fight...," continued on page 3 2 July 2 1 , 2 01 9 ANG BAYANULY Legislative agenda for all-out liberalization n his upcoming State of the Nation Address this July 22, Rodrigo Duterte Executive Order 65 which promul- Iis expected to once again demonstrate utter subservience to his US impe- gated a shortened FINL. It removed rialist master by prioritizing the implementation of neoliberal economic re- the restriction on five investment ar- forms which have long been recommended by the US under its The Arangkada eas and activities including internet Philippines Project (TAPP). businesses; teaching non-professional subjects in college; technical voca- These reforms aim to push for sewerage pipeline system. tional training centers that are not all-out liberalization of the local This will allow the full part of the formal education economy by streamlining or disman- ownership and control system; financing compa- tling investment restrictions for over the operation of nies; and wellness cen- multinationals and their subsidiaries. companies in these in- ters. It also increased In the past three years, Duterte and dustries by foreign the rate of foreign eq- various government agencies succes- capitalists. Duterte's uity allowed on con- sively issued executive and adminis- supermajority failed to tracts for construc- trative orders, respectively, to grad- railroad the enact- tion and repair of ually foist the implementation of this ment of this pro- public-works and de- neoliberal scheme. posal before the velopment projects from 17th Congress finally 25% to 40%; and on private PSA amendments closed last month. radio networks from 20% to Among those targeted for invest- 40%. ments by multinationals is the FIA amendments These aggressive liberalization telecommunications and transporta- The US is also pushing for the measures will immediately benefit tion subsector. The said industries are amendment of the Foreign Invest- China through capital investments still considered public utilities. Public ment Act (FIA) to compel the gov- and its deployment of personnel as utilities are defined by reactionary ernment to more frequently review per its loan conditions to the regime. law as "goods or services which satify and shorten the list of restrictions on the needs of a community." As these investment areas and professions Other measures are considered strategic enterprises, that are exclusively for Filipinos. The The US also recommended the the 1987 Constitution limits foreign list, which is called the foreign in- amendment of the Retail Trade Li- equity on public utilities to 40%.