It has been proven that the traditional psychological operations employed by military operatives, especially the US-trained or US-influenced, were good for short-period or tactical engagements only as exemplified by the Vietnam war. The Indonesian experience during the period when then President Sukarno allied himself with the Indonesian communist party that ended with the massacre of thousands or even millions of PKI members and supporters and the subsequent installation of the Suharto government as replacement is something that might be inspiring to some anti-communist hardliners now. However, I believe this would be an extreme option that the local military would not take considering that the local communist political influence is very far from what the PKI achieved during its time. However, while the mindset created by the half century of existence of the CPP remains far from accepting the takeover of state power by a communist party it sustains its non-demise in several ways, nonetheless. I like to call the mindset a modus vivendi of convenience at a time when government is still seen as incapable of fully providing security at all times and the nagging social, economic and political ills still prevent us from strengthening that very government.
It is estimated that the actual damage to property caused by the NPA was in several hundred million pesos, but the “revolutionary taxes” including “campaign fees” was in several billions as exposed by former CPP cadres recently. From this, one can calculate the extent and nature of the political influence of the CPP-NPA-NDF. It was more like businesses and politicians buying protection from the NPA rather than believing in their kind of revolution. But its effect is still the same. It supports the CPP-led revolution. I still have to see if this will change for the 2022 elections especially at the local level. I hope the resolutions of the LGUs declaring the CPP-NPA-NDF ‘persona non grata’ will reflect the change.
In the labor sector the affiliation or membership to the CPP-led labor organizations is a leverage in dealing with management that is normally fearful of the damage that the company can suffer from a strike that is supported by outside forces. It is not uncommon that a confidential signing bonus that goes to the CPP is given by management whenever a new collective bargaining agreement is signed. The involvement of this form of bribe money that is kept secret by CPP labor cadres from ordinary union members is a source of complacency in party discipline. After half a century, the CPP ideological line that the working class, the proletariat, is the leader of the revolution has still not been reflected in the number of party cadres coming from this class who are actually in the countryside leading the armed struggle. Since the early years of the CPP-led revolution, the red area or countryside cadres have been continuously criticizing urban party cadres for “purely unionism point of view” in the effort to raise the level of involvement of organized workers from unionism to armed struggle. It is easy to guess that this would be the most logical concern of the CPP now if it would be faithful to its ideology. There must be a government assessment on this specific one that is important in promoting industrial peace in the new normal. It must have one because DOLE should know every collective bargaining unit that could be influenced by the CPP.
Following the CPP ideology and its program of revolution, trade unionism is just the first step in agitating, organizing and mobilizing the workers in support of the armed struggle, the main form of struggle, to gain political influence in some parts of the country and then grab state power ultimately. The “welgang bayan” is the advanced form of legal mobilization prescribed by the CPP for the labor sector. It is the same concept that the CPP-led transport groups have been trying to implement without much success. Those being mobilized mostly are jeepney drivers but always lacking in substantial support from jeepney operators who are sympathetic to the demands but non-committal for fear of government sanction against their franchises. There are instances when companies, wittingly or unwittingly, would support employees to join CPP-led rallies, even providing transport and food provisions through their local unions. But this is more like maintaining good rapport with the local unions using the company labor relations officers.
Democratic unionism that ideologically differentiates and distances itself from the CPP-led revolution is the appropriate response to the CPP-led or CPP-influenced labor groups. In the political arena the appropriate venue is the law-prescribed certification election to determine the rightful voice and representation of the workers in fighting for benefits and protection. However, democratic unionism does not preclude participation in socio-political activities outside the company. A democratic union determines by itself through a consensus among its members how it can do this without unnecessarily violating labor laws and its CBA.
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