By Max Lane
Several Philippine left groups are holding exploratory talks aimed at assessing the possibility of establishing an ongoing united front formation. The talks, which began on September 28, involve the components of Peoples Challenge, which on July 26 mobilised more than 35,000 workers, urban poor and students to protest against the Ramos government's economic strategy.
Established for that single mobilisation, the Peoples Challenge included BAYAN (National Capital region — NCR); BISIG (Union for Socialist Action and Thought); PANDAYAN; a humanist socialist cadre formation; the Movement for Popular Democracy, a left liberal grouping; and CONFORDEM, a grouping of activists from the old pro-Moscow Philippine Communist Party (PCP).
There is little doubt that such a united front would command organised support of more than 100,000 active members of trade unions and urban poor and student organisations. There have been attempts in the past at forming such a coalition, but these have usually floundered due to the inflexibility of the largest component, the National Democrats (NDs) organised in BAYAN.
BAYAN itself was established in the mid-1980s as an alliance of very similar forces to those listed above, but it also included the large grouping of moderate Social Democrats. However, the alliance character of BAYAN collapsed when the ND forces used their numbers to deliver themselves a majority on the governing councils.
Since then BAYAN has comprised the trade unions, student groups, women's organisations and others which are under ND influence. While BAYAN and the NDs have continued to attempt various other alliances, especially around single issue questions such as land reform and repudiation of the foreign debt, none of these have generated much momentum.
One reason is that the NDs, heavily influenced by the policies and ideas of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), have always seen alliances as mainly a tactical way of supporting the primary form of struggle, namely protracted guerilla warfare in the countryside. Building a dynamic urban-based mass movement was never given a high priority.
This approach has now been rejected by the NCR branch of BAYAN, which has disaffiliated from BAYAN National and is in the process of preparing to hold a congress to establish a new organisation with new approaches on these and other questions. According to Tony Cabardo, the chairperson of the Interim Congress Preparatory Council and its representative in Peoples Challenge, there needs to be new and reinvigorated efforts to build an open and dynamic mass movement in the Philippines, especially in Manila.
"Moreover", Cabardo told Green Left Weekly in Manila, "there is a need for such mass organisations of the NDs to have their own dynamic. We, of course, will follow what is happening with the underground, but the open mass organisations must be able to work dynamically and democratically, with their memberships deciding policy directly based on the most democratic constitution we can devise for an activist organisation."
The new organisation, says Cabardo, will be based on individual membership of activists. "We expect the founding congress to be held on October 23 with about 700 delegates attending. There will be a general assembly of membership the following day to consider and ratify the decisions of the congress."
Most of the other groups in the Peoples Challenge alliance also note a change in the method of work of the Manila NDs.
"They say exactly what they mean, even wielding the axe a little bit hard sometimes", Arlene Santos, secretary-general of BISIG, told Green Left Weekly. "But we know exactly where we stand with them, which was not always the case in the past.
"It has also increased pressure on us and the other smaller groups to take ourselves more seriously. The Manila NDs are a big force who now seem to be taking united front work very seriously."
Leaders of PANDAYAN, a formation of 200-300 cadre, with a capacity to mobilise around 5000 workers, is also optimistic about the new attitudes adopted by Manila's NDs. "We are very open to more talks and confidence-building measures with the Manila NDs", Albert Yuson told Green Left. "We have had some bad experiences in the past, but so far we are pleased with developments.
"With more confidence-building measures and with clarification that the differences between the Manila NDs and the old NDs are genuinely ideological and not just a personality thing, there is a lot of potential for building a united progressive alliance."
The next major possibility for a mass mobilisation of the Peoples Challenge forces will be on November 30, Bonifacio Day. According to Cabardo, the Manila NDs will aim to mobilise 50,000 workers and students to raise the banner of the renewed mass movement. "The exploratory talks have gone well. From our side we will need to study more some issues, such as that of the relationship between state and civil society."
It is likely that the National NDs, adherents of the old approach, will attempt their own mobilisation, probably needing to bring in people from outside Manila.