by SONNY MELANCIO
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte
This article has been presented and discussed by the leadership and organizers of the Partido Lakas ng Masa (PLM) to mark the coming 100-day anniversary of the Duterte administration. It is a contribution to the discussion among the Left and progressive forces on how to view this administration and the tasks ahead.
I. The tactical period
1. According to Vladimir Lenin, the Marxist conception of a tactical period is based on “an objective consideration of the sum total of the relations between absolutely all the classes in a given society, and consequently a consideration of the objective stage of development reached by that society and of the relations between it and other societies, [which] can serve as a basis for the correct tactics of an advanced class.” [From Tactics of the Class Struggle of the Proletariat, V.I. Lenin, https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1914/granat/ch05.htm]
2. How do we assess and analyze the tactical period faced by the broad working class movement and its positioning in relation to all other classes under the present Rodrigo Duterte regime?
3. Let’s begin with the ruling class. The ruling class today is undergoing intensifying factionalism because a new faction has emerged vis-à-vis the older factions coming from or supported by the oligarchy and the so-called Yellow trapos [traditional politicians].
4. The new faction is the Duterte faction which is based among the local trapos and the local elite that have long been opposing the rule of “Imperial Manila” or the older factions. One of the main goals of this faction is to overturn the rule of the previous factions by enforcing ‘federalism’ or a federal with a parliamentary or presidential/parliamentary system.
5. The broad masses, who have been disenchanted and dissatisfied with the previous regimes that ruled after the Edsa Revolution (regimes which they lump together as the Yellow/Dilawan), are generally still supportive of the Duterte presidency. Duterte has the highest trust rating, reaching as high as 91%, among presidents during the first weeks of his presidency.
6. Duterte’s pronouncements on providing peace and security to many (through an anti-drugs, anti-criminalism campaign), eradicating corruption, increasing social benefits for the poor, and the likes, fuel the expectation of the masses that change is indeed coming under this administration. They consider the Duterte administration the last bastion of hope for a better future. It is however only a hundred days of Duterte administration and the masses seem ready to wait for a while and see whether the promised change will come their way.
7. A large section of the middle classes supports Duterte, especially his war on drugs or the peace and order campaign. Those who have assets and properties to protect (big or small) are relieved that the campaign gives them some security.
Left and progressive groups