Communist party in the Philippines founded in 1930
This article is about the Philippine Communist Party founded in 1930. For the Communist Party of the Philippines founded in 1968, see Communist Party of the Philippines.
The Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas-1930 (PKP-1930), also known as the Philippine Communist Party, is a communist party in the Philippines that was established on November 7, 1930. It uses the aforementioned appellation in order to distinguish itself from its better known splinter group, the Communist Party of the Philippines.[5]
The founding members of the PKP came from members of the Partido Obrero de Filipinas, a labor-centered party formed in opposition to the leading Nacionalista and the Democrata parties at the time. Most of the members of the Partido Obrero were also leading figures in the labor movement, including PKP founders Crisanto Evangelista, Antonino D. Ora, Jacinto Manahan, and Domingo Ponce. Evangelista and his group were increasingly being radicalized towards left-wing politics through their increasing involvement with the Comintern, Profintern, and the CPUSA. Particularly, in 1928, Evanglista, Manahan, and Cirilo Bognot went to the Soviet Union to attend the Profintern's Fourth Congress.[6] These people were also leading figures in the Congreso Obrero de Filipinas, the leading trade federation at the time.
In 1928, conservative elements of the Congreso Obrero de Filipinas (COF) were alarmed by the increasing radicalization of Evangelista and his group, and took advantage of their absence by calling a national convention on May 1 of that year. The incumbent president, Francisco Varona was ousted along with Evangelista, and were replaced by Hilario Barroga and Domingo Ponce, respectively. Some authors[7] claim the move was orchestrated by Evangelista's enemies in the COF: Ruperto Cristobal, Isabelo Tejada, and Antonio Paguia, however others[6] dispute the nature of this election and point out that Ponce and Ora being elected to positions in the COF points to its increasing radicalization. In the previous year, the Partido Obrero almost received official backing from the COF, the resolution only being shot down by a single vote.[6] Evangelista had plans for radical reorganization of the trade union movement, which would lay the groundwork for the communist movement in the Philippines. These plans were almost thwarted in 1928, but Evangelista chose to bide his time for the following year's conference.[7]
The next year, Evangelista and his group submitted a draft thesis which called for measures such as the adoption of a collective leadership, establishment of a workers' party, the promotion of class struggle, and so on. The thesis was allowed to pass to the May convention, where the conservative group allegedly used dummy labor delegates to ensure that the radical measure was blocked. Evangelista and his group walked out of the convention, and the COF was split. Twelve days later on May 12, 1929, a new labor federation known as the Katipunan ng mga Anakpawis sa Pilipinas (KAP) was formed, consisting of 27 of the 35 unions of the COF. On August 26 of the next year, a new political party was organized from members of the KAP, the Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas. The party itself was formalized as an official entity on November 7 of the same year. These two dates correspond with the Cry of Pugad Lawin and the October Revolution, respectively, symbolically linking the PKP with the nationalist and the communist revolutions.[7]
The newly formed PKP immediately set out with its propaganda effort. The PKP launched an aggressive organizational and propaganda drive among the peasants of Central Luzon and Manila, holding public meetings almost daily.[7] In January 1931, the PKP opened its national headquarters in Quiapo, Manila, and also launched its official organ, the Titis (Spark), reminiscent of Lenin's Iskra.
During this time, multiple incidents were attributed to the communists. On January 10, 1931, a peasant uprising occurred in Tayug, Pangasinan. This was blamed on the communists, although the PKP itself was castigated by a foreign critic of not coordinating with the peasant rebels. Besides the Tayug revolt, other peasant uprisings that occurred during the time were attributed to the PKP, and at time the PKP took credit for them, although the truth was that at the time the PKP was weak organizationally.[8] Most members, including Evangelista, believed that the root of the revolution should come from the urban centers,[7] while people like Manahan, Feleo, Guillermo Capadocia, and Mateo del Castillo believed that a strong peasant base was important in achieving the communist revolution.[8] Nevertheless, the PKP had no strong base in Central Luzon at the time.
In 1931, Antonino D. Ora died in an automobile accident in Nueva Ecija. Ora was a high-ranking member of the PKP politburo and central committee, widely regarded to be second only to Evangelista. Ora's funeral became the site of widespread demonstration, with as many as 50,000 workers marching through Manila. A wake was held in Ora's hometown and was attended by 3,000 peasants.
The most major incident concerning the first PKP was on May 1, 1931, when the communists were barred from holding their traditional Labor Day demonstration in Manila. The PKP instead transferred their celebration to Caloocan, under the auspices of the KAP. This permit, however, was also revoked hours before the start of the scheduled start of the parade. A contingent of the Philippine Constabulary, under Captain Rafael Jalandoni arrived to order Evangelista to cancel the parade. Evangelista instead raised his clenched fist and began an incendiary speech, and said:[7]
Comrades or brethren, the municipal president, Mr. Aquino, has allowed us to hold the parade, but for reasons unknown to me the permit has been revoked. This shows that the big ones are persecuting and oppressing us, who are small, which they have no right to do.
After this, Abelardo Ramos cried out, "Let us die fighting them!" Evangelista attempted to continue his speech when the PC arrested him and Ramos. The assembled crowd then tried to advance on the constabulary but were forcibly dispersed by peace officers.
Based on these events, the Manila Court of First Instance, on September 14, 1931, passed a decision declaring both the PKP and KAP as illegal organization, and sentencing twenty communist leaders of eight years and one day of banishment to the provinces. Evangelista was additionally sentenced with six months' imprisonment and a fine of 400 pesos for sedition. The convicted communists brought an appeal to the Supreme Court, which affirmed the Manila CFI decision on October 26, 1932.[9]
The American administration in the Philippines acknowledged and recognized that the convicted communists such as Evangelista, Manahan, Capadocia, and Balgos were leaders in their trades and their cooperation would have been most beneficial. These men were given offers for executive clemency but were adamant in their refusal. Eventually Manahan would accept pardon from Gov. Frank Murphy in 1935, partly due to ideological differences between him and Evangelista, and partly due to the intervention of Manuel Quezon. This, combined with Quezon assuming the presidency of the Commonwealth with his liberalism and genuine desire to garner the support of labor groups, allowed for an opening in rapprochement between him and Evangelista. The adoption of a united front against fascism by the Comintern also played a part in their release.
In 1936, James S. Allen, a high-ranking official of the CPUSA came to the Philippines to persuade Evangelista's group of accepting even a conditional pardon, under the argument that a united front must be maintained against world fascism. Allen then went to Quezon to successfully request the release of the communist leaders on December 31, 1936. He then returned in 1938 to secure an absolute pardon for the communist leaders, which was granted on December 24 of that same year. Given their full political rights, they were now able to act and implement the Comintern's call for a united-front movement against fascism.
Allen then mediated between Pedro Abad Santos' Partido Sosyalista ng Pilipinas (PSP) and Crisanto Evangelista's PKP to form a merger, despite their ideological differences.
Pedro previously founded the PSP in 1932 when the Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas (PKP) was outlawed by the Supreme Court. Two years later, together with his assistants Agapito del Rosario, Luis Taruc, Lino Dizon and others, he organized the Aguman ding Talapagobra ning Pilipinas (ATP) into the Aguman ding Maldang Talapagobra (AMT), similar to the general workers’ unions in Spain, Mexico and France, which advocated the expropriation of landed estates and friar lands, farmers’ cooperative stores and the upliftment of peasants’ living conditions. On November 7, 1938, during the anniversary of the October Revolution, members of the PKP and the PSP held a convention at the Manila Grand Opera House where they declared their merger as the Communist Party of the Philippines. Crisanto Evangelista was elected President, Pedro Abad Santos Vice President, and Guillermo Capadocia General Secretary.[10]
The new party was officially called the Communist Party of the Philippines (merger of the Communist and Socialist parties), but was simply referred to as the Communist Party of the Philippines for short. The three top officers of the new PKP were Evangelista, Abad Santos and Capadocia, who were President, Vice President, and General Secretary, respectively.[7]
In 1935, PKP was accepted into the Comintern. In 1937 the PKP was legalized again, under the Commonwealth in response to the growing threat of fascism in Germany and militarist Japan. And in 1938 the Socialist Party was merged into the PKP. The PKP participated in a Popular Front for municipal elections in 1940, which did well on the island of Luzon, where six communist mayors were elected.
During World War II, the PKP helped organize the fight against the Japanese invasion. Under PKP leadership, the Hukbalahap (People's Army against Japan) was created in 1942 under the leadership of Luis Taruc and Vicente Lava. The Hukbalahap carried on a struggle against the Japanese occupation for the next three years. After the end of Japanese occupation, the PKP found itself in a considerably strengthened position in the working class and peasant movements. The Congress of Labor Organizations was created in July 1945 under PKP management. In 1946 PKP participated in the presidential elections within the Democratic Alliance.
In 1948, the PKP began an armed struggle against the government. The party was banned that year.[11] In early 1950, the PKP created the People's Liberation Army (Hukbong Mapagpalaya ng Bayan) which was made up of about 10,000 soldiers. On October 18, 1950, the entire secretariat of the Central Committee of the PKP was arrested, including General Secretary Jose Lava, following the earlier capture of the Politburo in Manila[12]:90 (and would remain in prison for the next two decades). Jose had taken over the leadership when his brother Vicente died, and another brother, Jesus, took over after Jose's capture.[12]:96
In the course of the armed struggle, PKP and the People's Liberation Army sustained large losses.[12]:95 By the end of 1954, the armed struggle was effectively over, although it took a few more years to die out, after which the PKP pursued a course of peaceful (legal and illegal) action. Although they created another guerilla force similar to the Hukbong Mapagpalaya ng Bayan, known as the Bagong Hukbong Mapagpalaya ng Bayan; more commonly known as the Army ng Bayan (or Ermeng Bayan according to the CPP), under Pedro Taruc and Sumulong.
Remnants of the PKP worked from the underground to rebuild their mass organisations and affiliated groups.
In 1964, Jose Maria Sison co-founded the Kabataang Makabayan (Patriotic Youth) with Nilo Tayag. This organization rallied the Filipino youth against the Vietnam War, against the Marcos presidency, and corrupt politicians. On December 26, 1968, he formed and chaired the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), an organisation within the Communist Party founded on Marxist–Leninist-Mao Zedong Thought, stemming from his own experiences as a youth leader, labour, and land reform activist. This is known as the First Great Rectification Movement where Sison and other radical youths criticised the existing Party's leadership and failure. The reformed CPP included Maoism within the political line as well as the struggle for a National Democratic Revolution in two stages, consisting of a "Protracted People's War" as its first part to be followed by a Socialist Revolution.
Soon after this, the leadership of the PKP sought to eliminate and marginalise Sison. However, the reorganised CPP had a larger base and renewed political line that attracted thousands to join its ranks.[citation needed] The old leadership and its followers was pro-Soviet, while the other, mostly younger faction was oriented towards Maoism. On December 26, 1968, the Maoist faction announced it was re-establishing the Communist Party of the Philippines. Over time the Maoist party eclipsed the pro-Soviet faction, which is now commonly referred to as PKP-1930 since the 1980s.
According to historian Joseph Scalice, the PKP, in its alliance with the Marcos administration, was responsible for more communist deaths "in the wake of the declaration of martial law than were killed by the dictatorship", due mostly in part by a growing youth faction in the party called the Marxist-Leninist Group (MLG) opposing the imposition of martial law and attempting to splinter from the PKP.[13]
The PKP-1930 survived the martial law era as pro-government supporters, after being pardoned by PresidentFerdinand Marcos. They supported the government in its land reform programme, attempt for Land Collectivisation, and the "Democratic Revolution from the centre" envisioned by Marcos. The Maoist faction, led by Jose Maria Sison, continues to fight to this day. As of now, the PKP-1930 is a minor party and issues the publication Sulong!. Some party members had been elected to public office after the 2013 and 2016 elections in the country.[14]
Related Research Articles
Luis Mangalus Taruc was a Filipino political figure and rebel during the agrarian unrest of the 1930s until the end of the Cold War. He was the leader of the Hukbalahap group between 1942 and 1950. His involvement with the movement came after his initiation to the problems of agrarian Filipinos when he was a student in the early 1930s. During World War II, Taruc led the Hukbalahap in guerrilla operations against the Japanese occupants of the Philippines.
The Hukbong Bayan Laban sa Hapon, better known by the acronym Hukbalahap, was a Filipino communist guerrilla movement formed by the farmers of Central Luzon. They were originally formed to fight the Japanese, but extended their fight into a rebellion against the Philippine government, known as the Hukbalahap Rebellion, in 1946. It was put down through a series of reforms and military victories by Defense Secretary, and later President, Ramon Magsaysay.
The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) is a far-left, Marxist–Leninist–Maoist revolutionary organization and communist party in the Philippines, formed by Jose Maria Sison on 26 December 1968. It is designated as a terrorist group by the United States Department of State together with Sison and its armed wing New People's Army (NPA) in 2002. The European Union renewed its terrorist designation on the organization in 2019, though a 2009 ruling by the EU's second highest court delisted Sison as a "person supporting terrorism" and reversed a decision by member governments to freeze assets. According to the US' Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook, the CPP and the NPA aims to destabilize the Philippines' economy and overthrow the national government.
Jose Maria Canlas Sison, also known as Joma, was a Filipino writer, poet, and activist who founded and led the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and added elements of Maoism to its philosophy—which would be known as National Democracy. His ideology was formed by applying Marxism–Leninism–Maoism to the history and circumstances of the Philippines.
The 1935 Philippine presidential and vice presidential elections were held on September 16, 1935. This was the first election since the enactment of the Tydings–McDuffie Act, a law that paved the way for a transitory government, as well as the first nationwide at-large election ever held in the Philippines.
Crisanto Abaño Evangelista was a Filipino communist politician and labor leader of the first half of the 20th century. He is credited as being one of the founders of the Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas. Evangelista was also an influential head of the Congreso Obrero de Filipinas, at the time the foremost and largest trade federation in the Philippines, having served as secretary for multiple years. He also headed the Union de Impresores de Filipinas as its Secretary-General. Prior to forming the PKP, Evangelista was a member of the Partido Obrero de Filipinas, a Filipino workers' party with increasingly radical leanings. Evangelista was eventually captured by the Japanese during the Second World War and executed.
Pedro Abad Santos y Basco was a Filipino Marxist politician. He founded the Partido Sosyalista ng Pilipinas (PSP) or Philippine Socialist Party in 1932. He ran for several local elections but never won. He also ran for president in the 1941 Philippine presidential election, but later withdrew, weeks before the election. Luis Taruc of the Hukbalahap Rebellion was under his tutelage and was his right-hand man.
The Hukbalahap Rebellion was a rebellion staged by former Hukbalahap or Hukbong Bayan Laban sa Hapon soldiers against the Philippine government. It started in 1942 during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, continued during the presidency of Manuel Roxas, and ended in 1954 under the presidency of Ramon Magsaysay.
Guillermo Capadocia (1909–1951) was a Filipino communist politician and labour leader. He was a prominent leader of the Communist Party in the Philippines (PKP) and different labour movements. During the last one and a half years of his life he was a regional guerrilla commander of the Hukbalahap.
Plaza Moriones is a major public square in Tondo, Manila. Unlike other squares in Manila, the plaza is in the shape of a linear park occupying the central median of Moriones Street, starting at the intersection of Moriones and Juan Luna Streets, and ending at the intersection with Santa Maria Street, bisected by Nicolas Zamora Street in the center. It is named after Governor-General Domingo Moriones y Muralla, responsible for the construction of Manila's sewerage system during his tenure from 1877 to 1881.
The history of communist armed conflicts in the Philippines is closely related to the history of Communism in the Philippines, with various armed conflict linked to the armed wings of the various communist organizations that have evolved since 1930. The two largest conflicts have been the Hukbalahap Rebellion of 1942–1954, and the ongoing rebellion of the New People's Army, which began in 1969 under the auspices of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). But various splinter groups have since separated from the CPP and have had a history of armed conflict with the Philippine government since then.
Communism in the Philippines emerged in the first half of the 20th century during the American Colonial Era of the Philippines. Communist movements originated in labor unions and peasant groups. The communist movement has had multiple periods of popularity and relevance to the national affairs of the country, most notably during the Second World War and the Martial Law Era of the Philippines. Currently the communist movement is underground and considered an insurgent movement by the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
José Baltazar Lava, also known as Peping or Harry, was the general secretary of the Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas-1930 (PKP), from 1948 until his arrest in 1950. He spent the following two decades in prison and another two decades in exile in Prague, Czechoslovakia.
The First Great Rectification Movement refers to a 1965 ideological movement by Filipino communists led by Jose Maria Sison wherein they "criticized, repudiated and rectified the major ideological, political and organizational errors and weaknesses" of the 1930s-era Communist Party of the Philippines. This rectification movement led to the reestablishment of the Communist Party of the Philippines on December 26, 1968 along Marxist–Leninist–Maoist Thought.
The Partido Obrero de Filipinas was a Marxist political party formed in 1924 by Filipino labor organizers Crisanto Evangelista, Domingo Ponce and Cirilo Bognot during the administration of the Insular Government of the Philippine Islands. This party later formed the core of the Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas which was established in 1930.
The Katipunan ng mga Anak-Pawis sa Pilipinas (KAP) was the third trade union federation in the Philippines. It was formed in 1929 after an antagonistic national convention of the Congreso Obrero de Filipinas where election results were manipulated caused Crisanto Evangelista and his faction to split from the COF. In 1930, the KAP changed its name to Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas after it initiated the formation of a "mass political party" and questions arose regarding its name.
Juan Feleo was a Filipino peasant leader and politician. He was one of the founders of one of the Philippines' leading peasant groups, the Kalipunang Pambansa ng Magbubukid sa Pilipinas and a top-ranking member of the Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas. He was also involved in the HUKBALAHAP, and his death sparked the subsequent Huk Rebellion.
Casto Jurado Alejandrino was a Filipino peasant leader and commander of the Hukbalahap. He was the Hukbalahap's vice-commander, second only to its Supremo, Luis Taruc. Alejandrino was one of the few supporters of the Hukbalahap that were also landlords, coming from the Alejandrino family which included former revolutionary general Jose Alejandrino.
Philippine Society and Revolution, first published in 1971, is a book written by Filipino Maoist revolutionary and founder of the Communist Party of the Philippines Jose Maria Sison, under his nom de guerre Amado Guerrero. Regarded as one of the CPP's principal references, PSR has also influenced the Filipino mass movement since its first publication. It applied Maoist analysis to contemporary Filipino society, describing its class structure, its basic problems, and the "class logic of the revolutionary solution — which is the people's democratic revolution."
Anarchism in the Philippines has its roots in the anti-colonial struggle against the Spanish Empire, becoming influential in the Philippine Revolution and the country's early trade unionist movement. After being supplanted by Marxism-Leninism as the leading revolutionary tendency during the mid-20th century, it experienced a resurgence as part of the punk subculture, following the fragmentation of the Communist Party of the Philippines.
1 2 3 Richardson, Jim (2011). Komunista: The Genesis of the Philippine Communist Party, 1902–1935. Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Saulo, Alfredo (1990). Communism in the Philippines: an Introduction. Ateneo de Manila University Press.
1 2 Kerkvliet, Benjamin (1970). The Huk Rebellion: A Study of Peasant Revolt in the Philippines. University of California Press.
↑ The People of the Philippine Islands v. Crisanto Evangelista, et al.,GR L-36278SCRA(Phil.1932).
↑ Office (CICTO), City Information and Communications Technology. "Pedro Abad Santos - Local Hero". City of San Fernando - Christmas Capital of the Philippines. Retrieved September 8, 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
