page_title: Communism in the Philippines
section_title: The CPP During the Marcos Regime
hierarchical_section_title: Communism in the Philippines / Martial Law and Fourth Republic / The CPP During the Marcos Regime
caption_attribution_description: English: Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos at an armed forces full honor departure ceremony with Secretary of State, George Shultz, in attendence. Cropped image.
context_page_description: Communism in the Philippines emerged in the first half of the 20th century during the American Colonial Era of the Philippines. Communist movements originated in labor unions and peasant groups. The communist movement has had multiple periods of popularity and relevance to the national affairs of the country, most notably during the Second World War and the Martial Law Era of the Philippines. Currently the communist movement is underground and considered an insurgent movement by the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
  The Communist movement in the Philippines officially began in 1930 with the formation of the Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas. The party was outlawed in 1932 by a decision from the Supreme Court, but was technically legalized in 1938. During the Second World War the PKP played a part in guerrilla warfare against the Japanese Occupation forces by way of the Hukbong Bayan Laban sa Hapon. The PKP took a more moderate stance, supporting efforts by the Osmena administration for social reform, before fully committing itself to the support of armed struggle by the Huks.
context_section_description: The first major incident that involved the CPP was the First Quarter Storm, a series of leftist demonstrations in opposition to Marcos' reelection. Membership increased due to these events, as well as incidents such as the Diliman commune, while events such as the Plaza Miranda bombing were blamed by the Marcos administration on the communists. Eventually, the declaration of Martial Law on September 23, 1972, and the resulting government repression led to more people joining the CPP and the NPA. Arrests were made against the central committee in 1973, 1974, 1976 and 1977, the last including Sison himself, but membership in the groups grew steadily, and decentralized operations allowed the party to operate despite arrests
  In 1978, the CPP faced its first major internal debate when the CPP central committee advocated the boycott of the national elections, while the Manila-Rizal committee disagreed, instead wanting to back opposition Senator Benigno S. Aquino Jr. This, combined with other differences between the Central and Manila-Rizal committees prevented the CPP from staging effective operations during the 1978 elections. The disastrous result of the elections contributed to the growing bitterness by the people against the Marcos administration, and combined with the CPP's efforts in mass recruitment led to an increase in CPP-NPA ranks. Disagreements between the policies of the Central Committee and the regional committees however started to grow, particularly in the regional committees' disapproval of the seemingly dogmatic insistence of the central committee's reliance on rural armed struggle.
  In 1981 the NPA reflected this increase in numbers by staging a "strategic counteroffensive", increasing its autonomy and experimenting with new tactics Battalion-sized groups were possible in Samar and Northern Luzon by the end of the Marcos administration. On the other end of the spectrum, "sparrow units" of one to three people operated throughout the country, especially in Davao Region, assassinating police officers and other targeted individuals. The communists enjoyed mass support from the people and from the Catholic Church, which employed its extensive network to aid the rebels.
  1981 also saw the end of Martial Law, which allowed the CPP to operate more openly in the cities. Mass demonstrations were conducted frequently and increased dramatically after the assassination of Benigno Aquino. The party refocused itself and adopted a united front strategy, similar to the one employed by the PKP during the Second World War, in order to attract the largest cross-section of Anti-Marcos supporters. They did this by allying themselves with the National Democratic Front, a nationalist organization founded in 1973 by Satur Ocampo.
  In February 1986, Marcos called for snap elections. The CPP politburo ruled three to two in favor of a boycott. The resulting popularity of Corazon Aquino, her subsequent victory, and the EDSA Revolution that followed, however, left the communists out of step with popular sentiment. The CPP acknowledged that the boycott was a tactical blunder on their part. By 1986, the NPA had approximately 25,000 members in its ranks, while CPP membership numbered around 30,000. At its maximum strength, the NPA was operating in 69 of the country's 80 provinces. Military activity also increased dramatically during this time. Platoon-sized offensives became widespread by 1979, especially in the Samar province. By 1983, the NPA had amassed 5000 high-powered rifles.
caption: President Ferdinand Marcos
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