UP activist: Why I went underground
In the 1970s, many of the country’s best and brightest minds were forced to go underground following the declaration of martial law.
Daily Tribune talked with an alumnus of the University of the Philippines (UP) who became an activist and joined the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) after being tortured and detained by the military.
Daily Tibune (DT): Did you go underground?
If yes, why?
Marlon (M): I did go underground. I was tortured when I was arrested in November 1973. I had experienced police brutality and lack of respect for democratic rights in the rallies I joined that were dispersed with batons, tear gas and bullets. When I was undergoing torture, I finally concluded that the military, police and the entire government machinery were instruments of a cabal of people working only for their self-interest. I got a dose of fascist hatred that left an indelible imprint in my psyche and emotions. It forged my resolve to fight.
Sometime in 1974, our group assessed the security situation of our members. We decided that I was a high-security risk and it was best for me to go to the countryside to do organizing and political work.
I never became part of the New People’s Army. I was a full-time leader and political officer in the underground as a member of the CPP. I was underground until I surfaced in 1984. It was 10 years of sacrifice in service of the people.
DT: Why do you think many of the country’s best and brightest go underground?
M: The best and brightest minds can see through the façade of society, politics and government. Some will embrace the evils and injustice, like Rigoberto Tiglao and the leadership of the police and military. Many more will act on what they see and take it up as a personal crusade.
People don’t realize and appreciate the thought process and emotional struggle of one who decides to give up all the comforts of life, the prospect of a career, and the possibility of earning wealth and prestige.
It is a heart-wrenching decision to face the rejection of family and friends. It’s stressful when one dives into a daily living of frugality and shifting names with the constant risk of capture, torture and death. But eventually, I got used to life in the underground and it became my new normal.
There are many names written literally in stone in the monuments of the Bantayog ng mga Bayani and many more who remain unnamed. They all paid the ultimate sacrifice and made the last line of “Lupang Hinirang” their truth.
‘I still subscribe to the basic tenets of social and economic justice, democratic principles, and progressive politics. I conform to the basic principles of socialism. But I now reject one-party rule, whether of the Communist Party or any other political party
DT: Is communism still relevant today? Why or why not?
M: The communist ideology envisions a society where humankind has fundamentally changed and society operates on the principle of “from each according to his ability, to each according to his need.”
Communism aims to create a system where there is an abundant and free flow of wealth. It requires the abolition of capitalism where greed is revered and where the very few accumulate fantastic wealth while driving the great majority of the population into crippling poverty. It means the public and communal ownership of the means of production.
The road towards communism requires a long period of socialist construction. In this period, the policy is “from each according to his ability, to each according to his deed.” The Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of China were the principal exemplars of the socialist revolution and experimentation in Marxist socialism.
The USSR collapsed. China became a capitalist country under one-party rule. The attempt to build society according to Marxist socialism failed.
I still subscribe to the basic tenets of social and economic justice, democratic principles and progressive politics. I conform to the basic principles of socialism.
But I now reject one-party rule, whether of the Communist Party or any other political party. I have also decided not to participate in the armed struggle in the Philippines. I now believe we can capture political power by parliamentary struggle.
I believe, however, that we need strong political parties espousing clearly defined ideologies and political programs aimed towards creating a Philippines that is peaceful, prosperous, and progressive for all citizens. Damn all political butterflies. Damn all the greedy and power hungry politicians and capitalists who are now the main enemies of Philippine society.
DT: What have you learned from your activism?
M: Activism is ignited when one is exposed to the grim realities of society. It is fanned by repression and becomes a roaring fire when one encounters state impunity and the brutality of the armed agencies of the state.
My activism in the past 50 years of my life taught me that we have to fight for social and economic justice because all past Philippine administrations will not give it without struggle.
Unfortunately, we have a government that, from the time I saw light in this world, especially from Marcos down to the Duterte administration, existed mainly for their own benefit to fill their pockets by raiding the treasury and collecting bribes and kickbacks. That’s why we are still in the bottom rung among countries in Southeast Asia, a region of Asia with the most productive and advanced economic activity in the world driven by China and Japan.