Message to 3rd National Congress of ANAKBAYAN-USA
By Jose Maria Sison
Chairperson Emeritus of International League of Peoples’ Struggle
and Founding Chairman of Kabataang Makabayan
November 30, 2019
https://www.facebook.com/joma.sison/videos/10220046002611026/

As Founding Chairman of Kabataang Makabayan and consistent supporter of the Filipino youth movement for national liberation and democracy, I convey to Anakbayan-USA my warmest greetings of solidarity on the occasion of your Third National Congress on Bonifacio Day. I share with you the joy of celebrating the crucial role of the youth and student sector in advancing the revolutionary struggle for national and social liberation.

I join you on this meaningful day in recognizing and honoring all those who have dedicated their lives to building the national democratic movement and thus serving the Filipino people. I admire and salute you for emulating previous revolutionary generations and for continuing to arouse, organize and mobilize the masses for revolutionary struggle and aim for the total victory of the Philippine revolution.

In the meantime you must be guided by the theme of your congress: “Laban Kabataan! Fight against Fascism and Dictatorship! Organize the People to Oust the US-Duterte Regime!” To achieve what the theme calls for is an important and necessary step in advancing the revolutionary cause.
It is a noble task for the Filipino youth to fight and oust a regime that is treasonous, tyrannical, murderous, corrupt and mendacious and seeks to impose on the Filipino people a fascist dictatorship that is servile to US imperialism and to ruling classes of big compradors and landlords.

In the Philippines, the US is still the most dominant imperialist force in economic, political and military terms in accordance with existing treaties, agreements and arrangement. The Duterte regime has been assuring the US of its puppetry by promising in the name of anti-communism to destroy the people’s revolutionary movement and in the name of neoliberalism to make charter change that allows foreign corporations 100 per cent ownership of land, natural resources, public utilities and all other types of other businesses.

The Duterte regime is increasingly collaborating with Chinese imperialism for the purpose of obtaining bribes from the high interest Chinese loans and overpriced infrastructure projects. At the same time, the Duterte crime family is benefiting from private deals with Chinese criminal syndicates in the smuggling and distribution of illegal drugs and other goods in the Philippines. Duterte is so greedy that he is not satisfied with taking cuts from business contracts and state loans and stealing the people’s money from appropriations for pork barrel, military purchases, intelligence and other sham accounts in the strategic oplans.

Even as you are Filipino youth in the USA, you are in a position to make significant contributions to the Filipino people’s national democratic movement in the motherland. You can extend moral and political support to the movement by your declarations and actions as an association and by engaging in information campaigns and making appeals for support from the American and other people in the USA and on the global scale. You have the advantage of being beyond the easy reach of the tyranny and terrorism being unleashed by the Duterte regime in our motherland.

You can raise the political capabilities, professional and technical skills and material resources and somehow transmit these to the patriotic and progressive forces in the Philippines through assignees and volunteers from your ranks, through relatives living in the Philippines and through Filipino and foreign friends travelling to the Philippines. People abroad who are moved by the spirit of solidarity will find countless ways of realizing and extending concrete support for the just revolutionary cause of the Filipino youth and people.

To be more effective in contributing to the Philippine revolution, Anakbayan-USA must increase its membership and political strength among the Filipino youth and students in various cities and other localities where Filipinos are to be found in institutions, work places and communities. You are correct in equipping your chapters with the abilities and tools to arouse, organize and mobilize the Filipino youth and students. On the basis of your current strength, you must persevere in raising further your educational, political and organizational strength to a new and higher level.

You must have schools for national democracy, publications and social media teams and train speakers, writers, cultural activists and others who excel at imparting ideas and values to others. You must have effective organizers who are happy with recruiting new members and who are good at explaining the general political line, aims and purposes on their own or with the help of articulate team mates and publications. You must have periodic and timely counts of the participants and results of your educational and organizational work.

You must undertake mass campaigns among the Filipinos and foreign friends along the line of anti-imperialist and democratic struggle for the purpose of further solid organizing by Anakbayan-USA and other Filipino organizations as well solidarity formations among foreign friends who are encouraged to visit the Philippines and interact with the masses. If you wish to obtain support for the Filipino people, you must also be willing to support the revolutionary struggles of the American and other peoples.

You are being challenged to raise your revolutionary consciousness, to get organized and act in concert with others through meetings and protest mass actions in response to the crying needs and demands of the peoples who are now being subjected to higher levels of oppression and exploitation because of the ever worsening crisis of the world capitalist system and the reactionary ruling systems in various countries. All of us must be moved by the spirit of international solidarity and struggle against imperialism and all forms of reaction in order to attain national independence, democracy, social and environmental justice, all-round development, cultural progress and world peace.

Mabuhay ang Anakbayan-USA!
Labanan at patalsikin ang rehimeng US-Duterte!
Isulong ang pambansa-demokratikong kilusan!
Ipagtagumpay ang rebolusyong Pilipino!
Mabuhay ang sambayanang Pilipino!