By Jose Maria Sison
NDFP Chief Political Consultant
Duterte should hold himself responsible for failing to take the initiative to work for real change of the rotten semicolonial and semifeudal system and address the people’s need and demand for national and social liberation, instead of scolding and blaming his predecessors and the military for failing to make any change for the substantial improvement of the people’s lot.
Before and after his election to the presidency, the NDFP expected that he would do better than his predecessors in negotiating peace and in cooperating with the NDFP in the making of agreements on social, economic, political and constitutional reforms to address the roots of the armed conflict and institute a government of national unity, peace and development.
But he has frustrated and terminated the GRP-NDFP peace negotiations. He has been obsessed with carrying out an all-out war policy and using the armed conflict to justify his tyrannical rule and charter change for a phoney kind of federalism as pretext for a fascist dictatorship ala Marcos.
Even in scolding the military for following his predecessors in maintaining the constitutional basis of the reactionary government, he is merely agitating the military to act unconstitutionally in support of his tyrannical rule and using them as a threat to those who oppose his tyranny and corruption and even to his constitutional successor as a result of his death, physical or mental incapacity or military withdrawal of support from him.
Given a president who truly acts in the service of the people and for just and lasting peace with the revolutionary movement of the people, the military officers will as a matter of course follow such president as supreme civilian leader and as commander-in-chief because most military officers are of middle class standing and the enlisted personnel come from the lower classes of workers and peasants.
Because they themselves do not belong to the exploiting classes of big compradors, landlords and high bureaucrats, said officers and ordinary troops have twice supported the uprising of the people and have withdrawn support from such sitting presidents as Marcos and Estrada who were condemned by the people for brutality and corruption.
If Duterte persists on the path of treason, cruelty, corruption, incompetence and mendacity, he has much to fear from the military of his own reactionary government. They can withdraw support from him in order to protect the people from his tyranny and install his constitutional successor in accordance with the 1987 constitution. ###
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Military blew chance for true change in Philippines – Duterte
Edith Regalado (The Philippine Star) – October 26, 2018 – 12:00am
https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2018/10/26/1863261/military-blew-chance-true-change-philippines-duterte?fbclid=IwAR3AL-0vLPfvzJxgRMwoU7M7tJWdRo_D31zNmLp7z4NNlDaYgIf8xwPfHVU
MANILA, Philippines — The military may have blown its chances of initiating real change in the country when it returned power to politicians after helping oust unpopular administrations, President Duterte said on Wednesday.
“Kayo rin ang may kasalanan niyan (It’s your fault). You have had your chance to really change the country but you did not,” the President said in a speech at the awarding ceremonies for artists at Malacañang.
“You in the military, listen to this. You have maybe staged so many coup d’états, mutiny and everything. The problem with you is, every time there’s a successful revolution, you returned power to the people. Power emanates from the people, remember, not to the few,” he said, apparently referring to the February 1986 EDSA Revolution that toppled dictator Ferdinand Marcos and the so-called EDSA 2 in 2001 that forced president Joseph Estrada to step down. The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) played a key role in both civilian-led uprisings.
He said the country’s politicians were backers of oligarchs or were themselves the “rich people who… were able to maintain their alliances with government to milk more money.”
“So next time if you want a revolutionary government or if you want… Sleep on it, think about it, and not just surrender and salute whoever you want to salute,” he said in a mix of English and Filipino.
He also claimed he doesn’t mind getting toppled by the AFP or even by the Philippine National Police, and that they only have to tell him to leave if they are not satisfied with his leadership so he can step down peacefully.
“Now if you want to replace me, fine. I won’t be… As I’ve been telling you, just say so and I will step down if you can provide the remedy of what I said ails this country,” he said.
