War and peace in the Philippines: martial law, the war on drugs and US occupation – Liberation

President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines announced martial law over the entire island of Mindanao May 23 in alleged response to terrorist groups fighting in Marawi City. Despite the claimed response to terrorist activitynow a tired catch-all for any unpopular, authoritarian actionthe timing underscores a more ominous possibility: that the Duterte government is hunkering down in the event that the peace talks with the National Democratic Front fail.

Those peace talks have been underway in earnest for nearly two years,reflecting the progress of the progressive, anti-imperialist NationalDemocratic Movement, parts of which have engaged in armed struggle againstsuccessive right-wing governments in the Philippines. Though the peace talksoffer a major breakthrough for the Filipino peoples struggle againstcolonial underdevelopment, oppression and occupation, there remains apossibility that the Duterte government will abandon the talks.

The declaration of martial law in particular is ominous not only because ofMindanaos significance for the National Democratic Movement: it is one ofthe most materially rich regions in the Philippines, yet one of the poorestand most radical, as well as the site of an active resistance movement bythe oppressed Moro people. But that declaration also came with the openthreat of martial law beyond Mindanao and all across the Philippines.

The risk of the talks failure stems chiefly from the composition of theDuterte government: Like previous administrations, the military holdssignificant power and influence. Itmakes up some of the most backward-looking,reactionary elements in Filipino society and depends heavily on continuedU.S. support and occupation.

Dutertes ruling coalition has also been driving a vicious war on drugsin the Philippines, which to date has claimed up to 9,000 lives. Many ofthose killed were extra-judicial killingsvigilante actions that Duterte himself has praised. The war on drugs, like its counterpart inthe United States, has focused primarily on the Philippines poorestcommunities who have turned to emigration and the black market due towidespreadlandlessness, unemployment and low pay. As of 2012, forexample, 19.2 percent of Filipinos lived in extreme poverty, making onlyabout $1.25 per day.

What binds the two conflicts together is the continued occupation andsubjugation of the Philippines by the United States. Though the extremepoverty that drives Filipino communities to resist and support themselvesby whatever means necessary has its origins in Spanish colonialism, U.S.imperialism today is the driver at the most basic levels of the conflictstearing at Filipino society. From trade agreements thatamount towholesale robbery to continued occupation by U.S. forcesinterruptedonly by the Japanese occupation in World War IIthe Philippines has allthe hallmarks of an oppressed colonized nation.

Yet, as everywhere, repression breeds resistance, and the peace talks arejust the latest chapter of that resistances long history in thePhilippines. In the United States, it is the duty of progressive people to support the Filipino nations right to self-determination. No people can be free under occupation.

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War and peace in the Philippines: martial law, the war on drugs and US occupation - Liberation