AN EXERCISE IN WORLDMAKING 2009 - ISS

13 Imaging Women and Compassion in the New People’s Army 149
carry this on, an army and united front work were required. With 60
fighters and 34 rifles, the New People’s Army was founded in March
1969. In 1973 the National Democratic Front was organized (Liwanag
1988).
The dictator, Ferdinand Marcos’ declaration of Martial Law in 1972
fed the ranks of the CPP, NPA and later, the NDF. The underground
movement has become vibrant and daring in confronting the dictatorship.
For instance, 300 workers’ strikes were realized in October 1975 to
January 1976 despite the ban. The NPA had only 1000 high-powered
rifles in 1977, although its supportive mass base was estimated to have
reached a million people. By 1983, offensives by the NPA have increased
its armament almost five times (Liwanag 1988).
While internal political debates have stalled the utilization of certain
opportunities, the CPP has led militant struggle nationwide that contributed
to the mass actions that eventually toppled the dictatorship in 1986.
The political struggle in the Philippines was such that by the time the
dictatorship fell, there was already another type of government being set
up by the CPP-NPA in the countryside. During the administration of
Corazon Aquino, the NDF opened a door for peace negotiations. While
the peace talks since then has been on and off (NDF 2006), in the background
is an ongoing civil war.
For brevity, the contending ideas in the 1992 organizational split following
the Second Great Rectification Movement will not be discussed.
Suffice to say that military adventurism, urban insurrectionism and other
grave errors were found to have been committed by the Party, and those
who affirmed the Armando Liwanag’s document Reaffirm our Basic Principles,
Rectify our Errors recognized the mistakes and sought to correct or
prevent them from recurring. Since then, the Party and its Army have
struggled to rebuild mass bases where it was lost, and organized new
ones in areas previously unexplored.
Land reform remains an important task of the NPA alongside its military
work. It involves higher productivity through cooperation, rent reduction,
fair wages for farm workers, fair prices for farm products, and
the elimination of usury. The CPP sought to demonstrate progressive
stance in asserting that gender equality and women’s struggle have a
place in the movement, including the NPA. While women are still struggling
within the movement, the CPP is showing support for the realization
of women’s rights and sensitivity to the concerns of lesbians and