The word war between the Anakbayan party-list group and Akbayan regarding the latter’s qualification to run under the party-list system would have been an ordinary event in the never-ending tirade of the Reaffirmists against other Left groups since the split of the Communist Party of the Philippines in 1991. This time, however, the Reaffirmist-led youth groups Anakbayan, League of Filipino Students (LFS), National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP), Student Christian Movement of the Philippines (SCMP) plus its worker coalition Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) took it a step further. They wrote a formal letter to the Commission on Elections “to investigate AKBAYAN party-list and their nominees and if it is determined by the Commission that they are not qualified as party-list groups and nominees, remove and/or cancel the registration of AKBAYAN and deny due course the certificate of nomination filed by the party-list group.”
In so doing, these groups have crossed a political line, presumably with the blessing of the CPP leadership. They presume now that they should have the monopoly of Left parliamentary politics. This is in addition to their false assertions that their group has the monopoly of Left mass politics and that armed struggle is the only way to power. It is a step up from the previous threats of physical elimination of specific Akbayan personalities and leaders.
It is to be recalled that in the 1998 national and local elections, the CPP and its organizations in the legal mass movement boycotted the newly-implemented party-list system, calling it a “reformist” institution. However, an outcry among the leaders and ranks of its legal mass movement to participate forced the party to revise its policy and led to the formation and participation of Bayan Muna, Anakpawis, Anak ng Bayan, Gabriela Women’s Party, Migrante, and Suara Bangsa Moro in the 2001 party-list elections.
When the party decided to participate in the party-list system, it did so on a grand scale. The strategy of separate sectoral formations was resorted to make use of its wasted votes above the six percent required of the three-seat maximum set by law. Bayan Muna was maintained as both a national political party and a multi-sectoral party-list group, with the objective to make it as the center for their parliamentary work. In the current 2013 party-list elections, more than 10 party-list groups coming from this same political root have applied for party-list accreditation. It does not include Makabayan, which had been reportedly accredited by Comelec as a national political party apart from Bayan Muna.
The current CPP-led attacks against Akbayan are evidently aimed at monopolizing Left parliamentary politics and curtailing its political influence, especially after the latter entered the popular Aquino-led ruling coalition. In the 2013 elections, they ride on the popular call for cleansing of the party-list system of bogus groups, and called for the disqualification of Akbayan. There is a real fear that Akbayan will successfully attain the status of an independent national political party after the elections.
This fear comes from the realization that the CPP-led armed struggle is getting nowhere, without a strong cadre backbone, a broad-based mass base, and effective international support. This is especially acute at this time when there is a real possibility of permanent peace in the Moro rebellion with the signing of a “framework agreement” between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
The CPP is faced with the strategic dilemma of continuing a politically dead-end course of a protracted armed struggle or pursue the possibilities of the parliamentary arena. The attacks on Akbayan are evidently aimed at preparing the ground for the latter. The applicable Marxist tactical term here is “directing the main blow against the secondary target.”
Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) for Akbayan, it is now classified in the same league as the Lavaites in the late 1960s–the principal obstacle to be removed so that there is only one Left group standing. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) for those in the CPP who opt for the parliamentary struggle, the current state of Philippine democracy allows their meaningful participation.
Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) Akbayan had already blazed the trail towards meaningful Left participation in the parliamentary struggle. Anak ng Akbayan.
Reblogged this on Serve and Empower.
Hindi po partylist ang Anakbayan, fyi.
the extreme left is under threat of becoming irrelevant…akbayan has the promise of becoming a major political party…the latter is way better for the country..thanks mr. Casiple for this piece. How do i subscribe?
Anakbayan isn’t a partylist group. Minor thing, I know, but it has to be stated.
What’s the difference from Kabataan party-list?
Anakbayan is a mass org. AB is part of the orgs that compose Kabataan. – Minor details.
if one must be scholarly, one must be precise. Anakbayan is a political mass organization similar to the League of Filipino Students, while the Kabataan partylist is what it says it is, a youth partylist organization. Whether it exchanges people from time to time is not relevant to its separate definitions… :)… there, i said it as sententiously as possible.. .hahahaha… I hope i injected the right amount of wit and sarcasm in it too… hehehe…
Having actually ran into the affairs of Akbayan, I can say with some certainty that they will not be able to create a truly mass-oriented organization that can attract a lot of people. As long as the same crop of people dominate their NGO’s – wala pong mass base ang Akbayan, orgs lang.
My question about Anakbayan/Kabataan/LFS/NUSP/SCMP is a rhetorical one. when you are limbs of a single political tree, there is not much to distinguish substantially one from the other, either in ideological orientation, political affinity, or organizational ties. It just so happened that it is Anakbayan that has been tasked to be the attack dog. Where is the CPP YS Bureau here? Distinctions are superficial and politically absurd. The CPP could have just legally surfaced in the current democratic setting and done away with all thinly-veiled legal masks–necessary during the martial law years, but so irrelevant today. Then, it can play a positive role in our nation’s political life.
Anakbayan members just disrupted Akbayan’s press conference early this morning — http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/10/16/12/scuffle-breaks-out-akbayan-press-conference
Apparently, Anakbayan’s motto is “If you can’t beat them, harass them!” 🙂
Dear Sir
Greetings!
We are a group of undergraduate students majoring in Psychology from De La Salle University and are currently conducting a study on political maturity. This is in partial fulfillment of our thesis requirement in our Psychology degree program. Our study seeks to define the term political maturity given our proposed theoretical framework which consists of three components: political awareness (cognitive component), political preferences (affective component), and political participation (behavioral component). In this light, we would like to ask the following questions:
1. What is your understanding of political maturity?
2. What other terms do you associate political maturity with? What is your understanding of these terms?
3. Do you think Filipinos are politically mature? Why or why not?
Learning about your expertise in the fields of Political Psychology and/or Political Science, your insights will greatly be appreciated and will surely contribute in the further understanding and development of our study. Rest assured that your responses will be used solely for our study and will be given proper citations. Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact any of us. Our contact details are provided under our names below.
Hoping for your kind support and favorable response. Thank you very much and God bless. We remain
In St. La Salle,
JOSE MIGUEL V. MORENO
III-AB Psychology & BSC Legal Management
migimoreno417@gmail.com
+63922-899-6985
JUSTINE S. PAZ
IV-AB Psychology
justine_paz@dlsu.ph.com/ justine_paz018@yahoo.com +63905-230-8187
BRYAN JOSEPH G. UY
III-AB Psychology & BSC Marketing Management
bryan_uy@dlsu.ph / bryanjosephgouy@yahoo.com +63917-829-8110
Hi Justine,
Hereunder are my answer to your questions:
1. “Political maturity” is an elusive concept as it depends on a myriad of factors (nature of state, political history, context of a political event, role of political actors, etc) that, individually, may or may not have a decisive impact on a people’s response to a given political situation. It is therefore a relative concept that needs to be defined in a given stage of political development of a society. In the current post-Marcos democracy, we often refer to the transcendence of voters from traditional politics of “guns, goons and gold” and their self-realization of their sovereign power as people as an indicator of political maturity.
2. For me, political maturity, aside from the preceding points I mentioned, requires citizens to participate in both elections (voters, monitors, candidates, or campaigners) and governance (active participation in engagement with government, monitoring government performance, building democratic practices and institutions, and political party building).
3. Filipinos, as citizens, are in transition. A significant percentage (maybe a majority) are prepared to participate in democratic elections and governance. They may vote on basis of platform and programs, possibly join political parties, and other political activities within the context of a democratic society. The rest are still within the bounds of traditional politics.
Thank you so much Sir Mon! Nakatulong po talaga 🙂
Kumusta po, G. Casiple. Ngayon lang po ako nakabasa ng isang artikulo niyo rito nang buo (aminin ko po) at magkomento. Tanong lang po, anong masasabi ninyo sa kasalukuyang estado ng Kaliwa ngayon? Magagawa ba nitong maging epektibong pwersa ng pagbabago sa Filipinas?
The Philippine Left, within the context of the political spectrum, will always be there. However, the organizations/personalities of the Left historically changes as the political changes. Currently, those in the legal Left, including Makabayan, Bayan Muna, etc. that identifies with the CPP brand of Left politics, are prospering. The underground armed Left groups are the ones that are being left behind, except in some areas in Southern Philippines where the rationale for armed struggle still resonates with the people. The reason is simple: there simply is no compelling logic nor a critical mass for a protracted armed struggle.