Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0290/02900.txt

Text File | 1991-06-25 | 29KB | 445 lines

$Unique_ID{COW02900}
$Pretitle{272}
$Title{Philippines
Chapter 5B.   The Outlawed Political Opposition}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Melinda W. Cooke}
$Affiliation{HQ, Department of the Army}
$Subject{forces
government
armed
military
national
philippines
united
states
groups
law}
$Date{1983}
$Log{}
Country:     Philippines
Book:        Philippines, A Country Study
Author:      Melinda W. Cooke
Affiliation: HQ, Department of the Army
Date:        1983

Chapter 5B.   The Outlawed Political Opposition

     In addition to the Moro and communist insurgent groups, certain
associations and persons that espoused political goals officially viewed as
subversive have been outlawed or charged with criminal offenses. Most of the
groups were initially organized with the objective of working to end martial
law but have justified their existence after its termination by asserting that
critical elements of the system remained in place. Some had apparently
concluded that Marcos continued to dominate the political process and that
neither electoral nor other legitimate means presented viable options for
opposition activity. Although many nonetheless have remained committed to
peaceful change, others have been willing to resort to violence if necessary.

     Among the outlawed political opposition were a collection of groups
charged by the government with being a "third force" of opposition aside from
the Moro and communist insurgencies. In general, these groups were composed
of fairly affluent, middle-class professionals, intellectuals, clergy, and
seminarians. Most were members of the Catholic church and were located in or
near Metro Manila. Not all members advocated the use of violence to achieve
their goals, but by the late 1970s its use had become increasingly acceptable.

     One of these was the United Democratic Socialist Party of the
Philippines (Nagkakaisang Partido Demokratikong Sosyalista Pilipinas-NPDSP),
which, according to the government, was originally established by anti-Marcos
politicians who fled the country in the 1971-75 period. The group was
sometimes referred to as the Socdems or the social democrats, in contrast with
the national democrats, identified with the communist NDF. In late 1977 the
NPDSP established on Mindanao an armed wing known as the Sandigan Army, and
since late 1979 the small force-estimated to number fewer than 100 as of
mid-1983-has been implicated in violence in eastern Mindanao. The Sandigan
Army has also maintained a small following in the area around Metro Manila.

     The NPDSP was believed to have three factions in the early 1980s. One
was organized around Romeo Intengan, a Catholic priest who had been arrested
in 1978 but was believed to be in Sabah State. This faction was reported to
have maintained connections in Sabah State, Malaysia, and generally to be the
most conservative of the three. Another faction apparently leaned toward
establishing an alliance with the more leftist nationalist democrats, and
still another faction seemed to be closely affiliated with anti-Marcos
politicians in Manila.

     Two groups that appeared to have connections with the NPDSP and the
Sandigan Army claimed credit for violence in Metro Manila in 1979-80. The
first was the "Light-a-Fire" movement believed to have set a series of fires
in that area in October 1979. Its leader, Eduardo Olaguer, a prominent
businessman, was arrested along with several others shortly thereafter, and
the movement was quickly silenced. A second group, calling itself the April
6 Liberation Movement, claimed credit for bombings in Metro Manila during the
August-October 1980 period. Named for the date of an anti-Marcos protest that
occurred in Metro Manila on the eve of elections to the interim National
Assembly in 1978, the April 6 Liberation Movement issued a statement that it
was working for "the speedy overthrow of the Marcos dictatorship."

     The ties between these "third force" groups and other opposition groups
and figures were "influenced by ideological considerations and personal
contacts." The government has also charged that with some groups the ties were
much closer. After the April 6 Liberation Movement placed a bomb at a meeting
in November 1980 of the American Association of Travel Agents, at which Marcos
was present, the government issued arrest warrants for 30 leaders of the
opposition, including former senators Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr., Jovito
Salonga, and Raul Manglapus, all living in the United States. Others included
members of the United States-based Movement for a Free Philippines (MFP), of
which Manglapus was a leader in mid-1983. Aquino, Salonga, and Manglapus
denied any connection with the perpetrators, although Aquino admitted that
some "third force" groups had informed him of the plan to begin bombings and
asked him to lead the movement. The MFP has also maintained close ties with
the Philippines-based Christian Social Revolutionary Forces, or Christian
Social Movement, which has also been identified with "third force" groups.

Other Dissident Actors

     Opposition to the Marcos government has arisen among several groups in
the nation, sometimes in the form of illegal or violent activity. Sources of
such dissidence have included lay persons and members of the Catholic church
hierarchy, students, labor organizations, urban slum dwellers, and tribal
minorities.

     Although opposition from religious groups has been generally peaceful
and nonviolent, it was nonetheless viewed very seriously by the government.
Almost all dissent arose from within the ranks of the Catholic church. Over
85 percent of the population was Catholic, and the church had the capacity to
exert wide influence through its network of parishes, schools, and colleges,
making it a very powerful institution. The church has been particularly
important during the 1970s and early 1980s as a vehicle for popular expression
when outlets such as political parties and the press were under varying
degrees of government control.

     The Catholic clergy itself was divided internally into activists and
nonactivists; it was most often the first of these, according to the
government, who have at times taken part in programs that intentionally or
not, have given aid to communists or have been supported by them. Many
activists have wholeheartedly accepted as part of the church's mission the
need to strive for social justice as outlined in 1965 during the Second
Vatican Council under Pope John XXIII. These members of the clergy have
participated in social action projects among workers, urban squatters, rural
agricultural workers, national minorities, and other groups-sometimes taking
part in protests that have led to the arrests of priests and nuns, raids on
church facilities, and deportations of foreign priests. Many of these clergy
have publicly criticized the government and the military for human rights
abuses and have advocated a major restructuring of society, the redistribution
of wealth, and an end to policies intended to attract foreign private
investment.

     Activist priests, nuns, and lay-workers were well represented in the
Association of Major Religious Superiors of the Philippines, an organization
that presided over the various religious orders in the Philippines and
operated Task Force Detainees, which maintained a watch over those it
considered had been arrested for political offenses (see Public Order and
Security Offenses, this ch.). Many were not native Filipinos, a fact that
prompted some critics to charge that foreign clergy brought to the Philippines
standards of activism and human rights more applicable to developed Western
democracies than to the Philippines. Activist clergy were strongest in the
southern areas of the nation.

     Most activists took a reformist line, trying to work peacefully within
the system; a small minority, however, have embraced more radical goals, at
times reaching accommodation with the communists and working with alleged
front organizations. A very few have come to advocate vio