An Alternative Reading in Philippine History

(Philippine Society and Revolution by Amado Guerrero)

An Assessment Paper

Philippine Society and Revolution is an attempt to present the main strands of Philippine
history, the basic issue of the Filipino people, the dominant social system, and the policy,
strategies, and class logic of the revolutionary solution — the people's democratic revolution —
in a detailed way from the perspective of Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tsetung Thinking. Filipino
Maoist revolutionary and Communist Party of the Philippines founder Jose Maria Sison, also
known by his pen name Amado Guerrero, wrote Philippine Society and Revolution. In 1971, it
was first published. Since its first print, Philippine Society and Revolution has served as a source
of inspiration for the Filipino people, and it is one of the Communist Party of the Philippines'
primary outlets. In contemporary Filipino culture, it used Maoist analysis to explain the class
structure, basic problems, and "class logic of the revolutionary solution, which is the people's
democratic revolution." This book describes why the Communist Party of the Philippines was
resurrected in order to mobilize and unite the Filipino people, especially the poor and oppressed
workers and peasants, against US imperialism, feudalism, and bureaucrat capitalism, which now
rule the country's semi-colonial and semi-feudal society.

Following the reading and analysis of some books and records about the Philippines'
puppet government during its history and into the future. Many decades ago, Filipinos
experienced a drastic shift in the Philippine political system. On the one side, in reaction to rising
social tensions, US imperialism and the local ruling class abandoned any pretense of democracy
in favor of imposing direct fascist violence on the restive masses through the Marcos martial-law
dictatorship. Despite being suppressed by US-backed repression, a national democratic people's
movement has grown gradually and slowly to the point that the Filipino people are now closer to
national liberation than they have ever been in recent history.

This paper focuses on the Puppet Regimes that have existed in the Philippines' past. A
puppet state, dictatorship, or government is one that is legally recognized, autonomous yet highly
centralized, and completely reliant on and subject to the orders of an outside power. Puppet states
have formal control, but they are largely controlled by a foreign power through political, economic,
or military aid. Many proxy/puppet regimes offer the appearance of independence, but they are
completely dependent on the international power that governs them. Puppet regimes have existed
and continue to exist since antiquity. They're typically set up after a foreign power conquers an
area and installs a puppet government.

International powers create proxy regimes for three main reasons. The first motive is to
use the puppet regime to dominate, or at the very least pacify, the people of the territories it
governs. Intimidation techniques are also used. In the majority of cases, the foreign power's
military forces who install the puppet government are secure. Alternatively, puppet governments
may develop their own security apparatus in order to relieve the controlling foreign power of the
responsibility of keeping the subject people in line.

The second reason foreign powers impose puppet regimes is to trick the public and the
international community into believing the country is self-governing. As a result, to give the
appearance of being a sovereign nation-state, a puppet regime can use the national flags of the
country it rules. In addition, the puppet government's leaders are typically people with links to the
area they rule. The puppet government's subjects, as well as the international community, do not
always accept the puppet government's authority.

International powers impose proxy regimes for a third reason: to advance their own
interests. Puppet regimes support the ruling foreign power's agenda by using the land and
resources of the puppet state. This may involve handing over the puppet government-controlled
territory's capital to the ruling foreign power, or even using puppet government-controlled territory
as a launchpad for further conquests.

Allies, on the other hand, choose their actions voluntarily or in accordance with treaties.
Puppet states are obligated to legalize actions taken by a foreign country. Since the Second
Philippine Republic (1943), the Philippine government has held puppet regimes in high regard,
like the Roxas Presidency in 1946-48 and others. A puppet state maintains the overt symbols of
liberty, such as a name, banner, anthem, constitution, law codes, slogan, and administration. In
fact, the puppet state's government is created, sponsored, or otherwise controlled by an entity
from another state the "puppet government". International law does not consider occupied puppet
states as legitimate.

The Philippines and its people have long been victims of tyrannical governments that have
ruled the country since the arrival of the Spanish. It can be seen in previous governments and
administrations, from oppressive legislation that only favored the wealthy and leaders, to labor
prices that only left people wealthier and more disadvantaged. As a result of this, and in order to
redress the injustice, the people waged war and founded a people's army, the Communist Party
of the Philippines, which transformed into an unprecedented success as an instrument of the
Filipino people. However, there were traitors in this party, and they did little but rescue the key
reason for its formation. They were there to exacerbate the plight of the Filipino people by instilling
in them the need to pledge loyalty to the US government and the puppet Commonwealth
government as US imperialism returned and repositioned feudalism in the countryside, in the
hope of participating in parliamentary campaigns when these barbaric people were in control. The
underground turncoats within the Party promoted the imaginary independence promised by US
imperialism in their desire to occupy high positions in the fake reactionary government. The
deceived Filipinos felt rapid improvements, and the Hukbalahap was called the Huk Veterans'
League, putting the citizens at the hands of the oppressor. People's committees were limited to
temporary chapters of a legitimate peasant assembly during the anti-fascist war, and they were
used to promote the false notion that land reform could fall into the enemy's hands.

With that said, let us examine each of the country's puppet regimes from Manuel Roxas
to Diosdado Macapagal using data from Amado Guerrero's book "Philippine Society and
Revolution." We'll go into how these puppet regimes came to be, how they misled the Filipino
people, and how they behaved in the interests of US imperialism by numerous unjust treaties,
legislation, and orders. We'll also delve into how the Filipino people dealt with agrarian and labour
strife after WWII and up to Ferdinand Marcos' dictatorship.

In April 1946, Manuel Roxas was appointed the puppet Commonwealth government's final
president. He became the first president of the puppet republic of the Philippines when it declared
provisional independence on July 4, 1946. Other than the fact that the newly formed Liberal Party
defeated the reactionary Nacionalista Party in reactionary elections, the DA-NP coalition also
elected six congressional members in Central Luzon and three senatorial candidates who were
seen as being opposed to the US's unequal treaties. On July 4, 1946, the Philippines were granted
false independence, and the puppet republic was established by a foreign government decree.
The Treaty of General Relations between the United States and the Republic of the Philippines
was imposed upon the puppet president Roxas, effectively ending Philippine independence. This
treaty gave the US full control over large military bases that it could extend at will, guaranteed
that US companies and citizens would have equal property rights to Filipino corporations and
individuals, and put Philippine foreign affairs under US leadership.

Other major agreements and settlements were signed under the Roxas puppet
government to elaborate on the Philippines' basic colonial subservience to US imperialism.
Among them are the Property Act, the Bell Trade Act, the United States-Republic of Korea Military
Bases Treaty, and the United States-Republic of Korea Military Assistance Pact. The United
States government and its agencies were required by the Property Act to respect all real estate
and other property obtained before and after July 4, 1946. The Bell Trade Act expressly requested
the Parity Amendment to the colonial constitution, which would allow US monopolies to plunder
Philippine natural resources and run public services at will. It also extended free trade agreements
between the Philippines and the United States, as well as subjecting Philippine tariffs and the
peso currency to US directives.

The Roxas puppet government was also responsible for subsequent violent aggression
against peasant masses in order to retain landlord power in the countryside, as well as for forcing
Filipino civilians to sign unequal treaties. The Maliwalu and Masico massacres were among these
atrocities. Despite this, Lavas and Tarucs' reactionary bourgeois gang remained authoritarian
parliamentarism's loyalists. Land reform, the abolition of civilian police, and the recognition of
peasants' right to bear arms for self-defense were among the demands made to Roxas by the
Pambansang Kaisahan ng mga Magbubukid. People will be unconcerned. They were ready to
protect themselves and did so on the spur of the moment in reaction to the enemy's heinous acts.
If they issue a call to arms, the Lavas and Tarucs, a reactionary bourgeois gang inside the
Communist Party, will take the initiative and begin to respond.

Roxas' puppet government, which knew no limits in its contempt for the people, outlawed
the Hukbalahap and the Pambansang Kaisahan ng mga Magbubukid by presidential decree on
March 6, 1948. In the name of US imperialism and nationalist forces in the region, the Roxas
puppet government was never afraid to target the Filipino people.

The Philippines' second puppet republic, which existed from 1948 to 1953, is the one to
evaluate since Roxas' death. Elpidio Quirino, the vice-president under the Roxas puppet regime,
was in charge of this regime. To entice the populace, now-President Quirino promised amnesty
for the Hukbalahap, as well as a pledge to reinstate and begin reimbursing the salaries of
Democratic Alliance congressmen who were booted out of office in 1946. The surrender of
Hukbalahap's army's arms was conditioned for such a deal, which turned out to be enemy
propaganda. This was the first time the regime misled its citizens, with propaganda allowing the
Philippine Constabulary's troops and intelligence agents to blend in with the Hukbalahap's army,
allowing them to pass through the towns of Central Luzon safely. The enemy threatened the
Party's most dependable army officers with the intention of allowing them to surrender all of their
arms and army registration.
 The greatest achievement of the Quirino puppet government, which operated primarily in
the interests of US imperialism, was the devastation that the Party and the people's army had
suffered at their hands. By revoking the writ of habeas corpus, this puppet government abused
the most civil rights possible. Despite the fact that the situation was perfect for fighting a people's
war, Jose Lava's leadership desired a risky assault on the revolutionary forces. By infringing on
Leninist ideals, it stifled the mainstream movement's progress.

By the end of the 1940s, the puppet republic's finances had been exhausted by the
unregulated importation of consumption and luxury products, public services, and the rebuilding
of farm factories, offices, and stately residences derived from war loss and recovery fees, relief
goods, selling of war surplus materials, expenditures of US military forces, and veterans'
payments. In 1949, import tariffs were enacted to safeguard the reactionary government's dollar
reserves. In 1953, a comprehensive set of foreign exchange restrictions was enacted to delay the
collapse of the puppet government's financial reserves.

Taking advantage of the Philippines' political and economic problems, the US government
dispatched the Bell Mission to perform an economic evaluation and make recommendations to
the Quirino puppet regime. The Bell Mission paved the way for the 1951 Economic and Technical
Assistance Agreement, which required US advisers to be stationed in the puppet government's
strategic offices in order to ensure the continuity of colonial policy. The newly founded Central
Bank, in desperate need of capital, became a ward of the US Export-Import Bank and other US
banks. In 1950, the Quirino puppet government sent troops and supplies to the Korean War to
assist US imperialism in its war of aggression against the Korean republic, all while strictly
adhering to international agreements. The San Francisco Treaty was signed in 1951 by the
puppet president's representative in order for US imperialism to revive Japanese militarism as its
principal Asian ally. Due to contracts directly linked to the Korean War, Japanese monopoly
capitalism was resurgent at the time. Quirino remained a rabid puppet of US imperialism until the
end of his term, despite the fact that the UN was particularly interested in replacing him with
Magsaysay as puppet president.

After Quirino, Ramon Magsaysay embarked on another Puppet Regime, which lasted from
1948 to 1953. The Communist Party, the landlord class, and left-wing writers like the late Renato
Constantino had brainwashed a generation of Filipinos into believing that Magsaysay was nothing
more than a pawn/puppet of the US government. Despite Quirino's efforts to sway government
resources and programs in his favor, Magsaysay was elected third president of the puppet
republic. In an unthinkably expensive and unethical election, the American Chamber of
Commerce of the Philippines, which serves US monopoly power, backed Magsaysay. Using the
prestige of the Joint US Military Assistance Group, or JUSMAG, as an excuse, American military
officers went all the way down to the reactionary armed forces' company level to ensure that their
beloved running dog was picked.

Magsaysay personified what it was to be a colonial puppet for the United States.
Magsaysay's nastiness was always directed at Jose Ma. Sison or Amado Guerrero, the
Communist Party's chairman and author of "Philippine Society and Revolution." Of course,
Magsaysay routed the Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas, of which he was an officer before splitting
up to form his own party, first as defense secretary and then as President. Magsaysay used the
Jesus Lava leadership's anti-Marxist and anti-Leninist policies, which had immediately ousted the
Jose Lava administration in 1951, to complete the evil work of crippling the Party and the
resistance movement. The Jesus Lava leadership continued to use interventionist tactics to
dispose of the people's armed powers, refusing to benefit from the former Governing party's
mistakes. It referred to the stage of armed war it was in as a strategic "counteroffensive."

Magsaysay's project of the Philippine peso's subordination to the US dollar was apparent
in foreign currency steps during his presidency. With a low-risk and semi-feudal currency, the
Philippines had to rely on dollar earnings from raw material exports to buy finished goods from
other nations, mostly the US. To escape the priorities set by foreign exchange control rules and
tariff laws for the importation of "essential" commodities, US monopolies and imperialists
dismantled US finished goods before bringing them into the country and rebranded them as raw
materials for local production.

During the Magsaysay puppet regime, the US government released the Brownell opinion,
alleging official oversight of US military bases in the Philippines. The entire Filipino people were
enraged by this imperialist assertion, to the point that the reactionary Supreme Court felt
compelled to pretend to contradict it. The United States' imperial right to occupy military bases,
enjoy extraterritorial rights, and violate the Philippines' territorial integrity, on the other hand, was
left unchallenged by the court. The puppet government of Magsaysay was proudly proud of its
conqueror Magsaysay's position as a puppet of American imperialism.

When Magsaysay died in a plane crash in March 1957, the Philippines' next puppet
government stepped in quickly. Carlos Garcia, the vice-president of the Magsaysay government,
was elected to the same seat under the Nacionalista Party banner in the same year, establishing
this puppet regime. He was essentially a puppet of the United States, acting as a conduit for
American imperialism and the exploitative groups in the region. His government is said to have
made little attempt to free the people of the Philippines from colonial and imperial shackles. As a
result, they were permitted to stay. Import and export controls, as well as diplomatic efforts backed
by the World Bank and IMF, gave the middle class a voice in a new economic policy. The
establishment of reassembly and packaging plants, as well as the conspiracy of corporate and
political interests plotting to set a tariff to keep them out of imported products, especially raw
materials, angered many Filipino manufacturers.

It fooled the Filipino people during this regime by spreading the slogan "Filipino First,"
which was meant to be a reaction to the developing anti-imperialist movement in the Philippines.
This was a gesture made by this reign to hide the country's slavish submission to US imperialism.
When it comes to allocating US dollars for import-export activities, the slogan clearly means that
Filipino businesses would be treated preferentially over foreign businessmen of other
nationalities. But it was clear, also in our day, that the US dollar would still be deemed more
valuable or have a higher valuation than our Philippine peso. As a result, it was pointless and just
for show. Furthermore, although certain legislation and supply distribution preference systems
were placed in place to assist in the ramp-up of "new" or "required" companies and restrict the
use of finished goods, only a handful of them took advantage of them to some extent.

Aside from that, the Filipino people's apparently never-ending struggles prompted them to
organize a resistance campaign against US imperialism. On March 14, 1961, a protest led by the
young generation of Filipino society actually interrupted a hearing convened by CAFA, also known
as the Committee on Anti-Filipino Activities. This was the start of the Philippine revolution, which
lasted two decades and during which the Lavas gang allowed another reactionary group to gain
power in the second half.

Such significant events that occurred under this regime that also aggravated people were
when Lava, as part of the regime's anti-communist activity, used his position to terminate the
Party by introducing a "single-file" strategy aimed at eliminating any vestige of centralism in the
Party. With the advent of US imperialism in the archipelago, and as the era of American
colonialism drew to a close, the country's ethnic oppression and political turmoil became
exacerbated by the Peace Corps.

Diosdado Macapagal eventually defeated Garcia in presidential elections in 1961, with the
full assistance of the US monopolies. Garcia's technique of using government services and
infrastructure was never sufficient to give him the job.
 Macapagal started his puppet presidency by declaring complete decontrol, causing local
U.S. companies to openly show their corruption. “Local U.S. businesses were able to remit
massive profits even without having to hide them any longer by overpricing of products and
services purchased from their mother and sister corporations in the United States or elsewhere
abroad,” according to the book. Malfeasance severely tainted the systems of various trustworthy
departments across the world, especially the Bureau of Customs, which was replaced with a
newly readjusted tariff system that benefited them.

Seeing Filipinos struggle in their own country may be shocking and heartbreaking for most
people, but not for the Macapagal puppet government. The government was unstoppable, and it
had the audacity to take advantage of its countrymen's hardships and the economic downturn to
drive forward this "open door" strategy for colonial investments. U.S. investments were used to
amplify the country's economy's unequal treatment by US imperialism. They began to sell
businesses that would only exacerbate the crisis, instead investing in more lucrative projects such
as plantations and fertilizer plants. With the establishment of the Roxas puppet regime's most
recent office, the "Program Implementation Agency," US monopolies paved the way for more
deceptive actions that burdened the citizens. The strategy was to “suck up Filipino savings and
loan capital taken by the Philippine government from US-owned and US-controlled banks”
through this department.

The progressive mass movement in the city surged forward as the Filipino people believed
they had had enough of the regime's reactionary policies. Patriots from various social
backgrounds staged large-scale protests. On October 2, 1964, workers and academics from the
US Embassy and the Malacanang Palace took part in a protest against US parity rights and
military bases. As a result, on November 30, 1964, the Kabataang Makabayan, made up of the
most militant demonstrators, was formed in order to leave an indelible mark on the national
democratic struggle. In the countryside, Red commanders and soldiers stubbornly continued their
work despite the Jesus Lava leadership's call to end the armed struggle. Furthermore, the Taruc
Sumulong faction was able to easily control those who showed a tenacious attitude in the
revolutionary armed resistance. Despite the fact that the reactionary Lavas and Taruc gang had
taken over, the masses demanded that the proletarian revolution be led properly.

The Marcos Puppet Regime, the Philippines' last and probably worst puppet regime. When
Marcos defeated Macapagal in the 1965 elections, he founded this regime. He also ran for re-
election after one term, and he defeated Osmena again. What made the US like and want people
like Marcos was their ability to be supervised, effectively using counterrevolutionary dual tactics
in both urban and rural revolutionary movements. As a result, it is fair to assume that the country's
and people's experiences under previous regimes will continue, if not worsen, under his rule.

On the other hand, during a period marked by the rise of nationalist mass movements in
both the city and the countryside, US imperialism wanted a Marcos-style puppet who could best
use counter - revolutionary dual methods. Although acting as a dictator against the people,
Marcos is a despicable pawn of the major bourgeoisie, especially US imperialists, as this order
clearly demonstrates. He is particularly concerned about the repression of mass demonstrations
against US oil monopolies and their exorbitant price hikes. In either event, he is an outspoken
critic of free expression and assembly in general. He's also given his military forces, especially
his secret agents, special orders to listen in on people's conversations in order to find "myths."

The formal declaration of martial law has elevated the crisis in some parts of the world to
the level of a national emergency. The US-Marcos dictatorship is hellbent on committing fascist
crimes against the people, province by province and island by island, to suppress their cries for
national rights and democracy. The authoritarian regime claims it can do so freely as long as it
maintains complete power over the reactionary government and a monopoly on legal
communications networks like those in the Manila-Rizal region and other urban areas. As a result,
it will terrorize political mass organizations, newspapers, the Liberal Party, portions of the
Nacionalista Party, the constitutional assembly, and all patriotic and democratic leaders, in
addition to the Communist Party of the Philippines and the New People's Army. This is a message
to those with the freedom to openly share their knowledge and opinions to stay silent about fascist
atrocities committed in the name of protecting US imperialism's interests while holding the Marcos
puppet party in power.

There is no question that with these puppet regimes, there will be widespread agrarian
reform, agrarian unrest, and labor unrest, especially among agricultural workers such as farmers,
fishermen, dairy workers, and others. In the Philippines' rural areas, agrarian reform and violence
are inextricably tied. Due to slow government compliance, inherent loopholes in the regulations,
powerful landowner resistance, weak farmers' associations, and the New People's Army's
continuing advocacy of its own agrarian revolution, the government's agrarian reform agenda has
only been moderately successful in breaking up land monopolies. This is why many rural areas
remain impoverished. The advent of an agrarian reform campaign has been vital to the partial
implementation of the government's agrarian reform policy.
 Land reform laws enacted since the 1950s, such as the Agricultural Tenancy Reform Act
and the Agricultural Leasehold Act, among others, have proven to be simply concessions for
tenants and have failed to bring in meaningful changes in land ownership structure. Instead of
transferring ownership to peasants, these policies focused on regulating landowner-tenant
production relations. In 1972, former President Ferdinand Marcos issued Presidential Decree No.
27, which set aside only rice and corn lands for land resettlement. It was mainly used in Central
Luzon, a hotbed of peasant revolt and the birthplace of the New People Army (NPA).

This puppet dictatorship, unable to deal with the country's existing political and economic
challenges, used government mechanisms to brutally exploit and intimidate civilians. The sense
of "economic liberty" is totally ignored by this political culture, which promotes totalitarian
governance under the banner of "liberalism." As a result, the regime was marked by obscenely
inhumane killings, mass shootings, kidnappings, robberies, burnings, burglary, family
disappearances, and other atrocities.

The Philippine Revolution is one of the most important events in the country’s history,
awakening a proud sense of nationalism for generations of Filipinos to come. In a period of heavy
struggle and conflict, Filipinos of different backgrounds united with a common goal: to resist
colonialism.

Citations

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https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/756961.Amado_Guerrero.

Amado Guerrero. Liberation. (n.d.). https://liberation.ndfp.org/tag/amado-guerrero/.

Valdeavilla, R. (2018, July 30). The History of The Philippine Revolution. Culture Trip.
https://theculturetrip.com/asia/philippines/articles/the-history-of-the-philippine-revolution/.

Francisco, K. (2020, September 17). Martial Law, the dark chapter in Philippine history.
Rappler. https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/iq/martial-law-explainer-victims-stories