Category Archives: reds

Here’s how to tell if your friend is misinformed about activism

By admin | July 20, 2016

Written for Bulatlat Respect for diverse beliefs is one of the prescriptions of political correctness so therefore your decision to become an activist should no longer provoke scandalous reactions. But the menacing tentacles of Red Scare and Philippine-style McCarthyism continue to wield considerable influence in our social institutions. The result is that your activism is […]

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How to deal with a millennial moderate Leftist

By admin | June 5, 2016

Written for Bulatlat There is a regular gathering of anti-Marcos activists which briefly unites various shades of the Left. This was impossible to organize in the mid-1990s during the ‘great split’ within the Philippine Left, but today it happens several times a year. Perhaps the passing of time inspired these fierce ideological rivals to set […]

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The old and the young in the Philippine revolution

By admin | May 4, 2016

Written for Bulatlat News about the 47th anniversary of the Communist Party highlighted the group’s statement about the growing strength of the New People’s Army (NPA) in Mindanao on one hand and Malacanang’s dismissal of the claim on the other. This is newsworthy but not really new. Supporters and critics of the armed Left can […]

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What Millennials Should Know About the Kabataang Makabayan

By admin | March 19, 2016

Written for Manila Today Aside from Joma Sison and the surviving participants of the First Quarter Storm era, no one has come forward to publicly admit that he or she is the leader of the Kabataang Makabayan or KM. There is no roster of KM officers, there are no KM chapters recognized by schools, there […]

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Metro Manila’s Earthquake Drill as Rehearsal of the Coming Revolution

By admin | February 25, 2016

Published by Manila Today Something significant took place on July 30. Metro Manilans crowded the streets as part of a coordinated earthquake drill. Thousands marched toward barangay and city evacuation centers. Various institutions trained their constituents to follow some procedures as directed by the state. Everybody moved to safety. This was a disaster preparation activity, […]

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Why the Left is fighting alongside the Lumad

By admin | January 3, 2016

Written for Bulatlat The accusation that the Left is exploiting the Lumad for political propaganda is easily refuted by the Lumad themselves through their compelling articulation of various abuses inflicted by state forces in their communities. The Lumad do not need the Left or activists to voice out their demands; they can speak for themselves. […]

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A is for Anakbayan and other activist terms in the Philippines

By admin | November 22, 2015

Written for Bulatlat A – Anakbayan is a youth group established in 1998 which became prominent in Edsa Dos and during the campaign for the abolition of ROTC. Anakpawis is a partylist group which is at the forefront of the campaign to pass the Genuine Agrarian Reform Bill. Ang Bayan is the official paper of […]

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What I think about rallies when I am marching in a rally

By admin | October 29, 2015

Written for Bulatlat The heat, of course. Is it going to be tolerable? Ah but the scorching summer temperature is like inferno on Earth. There’s also the humid air, succeeded by a brief but heavy rain, and then it’s sticky hot again. Rains are unpredictable but the heat is constant. Clouds deceive because behind them […]

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The conscience of a radical or how the Left can join parliament and reject opportunism at the same time

By admin | August 31, 2015

Written for Bulatlat Some academics lauded a partylist legislator who resigned from Congress because of the latter’s inability to faithfully represent and defend the majority position of his political party. In particular, the legislator said he already disagrees with the stand of his party to remain a coalition partner of the president whom he described […]

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In defense of negativity and rah-rah activism

By admin | August 21, 2015

Written for Bulatlat If you think activists are too negative, then would you rather prefer the silent optimism of the apathetic? If unimpressed by the political value of streetnoise activism, would you follow the uncritical collaborationism as exemplified by the politics of former activists in the yellow regime? It is doubtful if people are exposed […]

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