PDSP, Past and Present

The Party’s History

The period of the late sixties was marked by a great slide into anarchy. After a long history of subjugation by various colonial forces and their cohorts, the nation was starting to exhibit cracks in its very foundation as a result of centuries of social unrest. Several decades since political independence have proved very disappointing to the overwhelming majority of Filipinos. Pillaging of public funds and equipment for private gains became more and more flagrant, complaints and legal remedies less and less availing.

These terrible trends damaged the national consensus, formerly so overwhelming in favor of democratic and nonviolent means of societal change. The temptation towards authoritarian or totalitarian societal models became evident with the resurgence both of fascist attitudes and of Communism, particularly in its Maoist form.

It was in this social backdrop that a group of young leaders from such people oriented organizations as the Hasik Kalayaan (Sowers of Freedom), the Kilusan ng mga Anak-Kalayaan (Movement of the Children of Freedom) and the Christian Social Movement, formally organized themselves into the Katipunan ng mga Demokratiko-Sosyalistang Pilipino (KDSP or Union of Filipino Democratic Socialists) on July 7, 1972 – the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Katipunan.At a time when the country was successfully polarized by the extremist forces of the left and right, this fledgling organization opted for a clear democratic socialist position and shunned armed struggle as a means for societal change.

Two months after its birth, the nation’s worst nightmare was about to begin with the declaration of Martial Law.In order to streamline and strengthen the democratic socialist forces of the country in preparation for an all out struggle against the US-Marcos Dictatorship, the KDSP began to adopt the structure and policies of a cadre-based political party. Thus, on the first of May, 1973, the Partido Demokratiko-Sosyalista ng Pilipinas (PDSP) was born under clandestine conditions.

The PDSP, at its very inception, described itself as Filipino nationalist, democratic, socialist and revolutionary. Cognizant of the fascist character of the regime, the PDSP opted for a policy of military resistance using all forms of struggle—legal, extra-legal and armed.

The Party grew rapidly as fascist repression heightened. On March 1975, another accession of strength occurred with the merging of the Lakas Diwang Kayumanggi (LakasDiwa) with the Party. As a result, the Party was renamed Nagkakaisang Partido Demokratiko Sosyalista ng Pilipinas (NPDSP) in recognition of the ongoing process of integration of the two organizations.

TOWARDS THE ARMED OPTION

Although the Party upholds the primacy of democratic means over violence, the onslaught of the fascist Marcos regime had given them no choice but to form an armed support when the situation would come to worse. In the year 1976, the Party organized local militia units and formed them into the Sandigan ng Pambansang Pagpapalaya ng Pilipinas (Philippine National Liberation Army).The Sandigan as it came to be known, was to support the legal and extra-legal work of the Party in the rural areas. It was basically a self-defense armed force specializing in guerilla operations. The Sandigan maintained a low-profile so as not to generate too much attention and can continue its expansion in the different parts of the country.

THE AGONIES OF VICTORY

While mustering its armed capability, the Party had also intensified its extra-legal struggle against the dictatorship. It helped organized the People’s Convention on Human Rights on August 1977, and helped form a multi-sectoral opposition group called Katipunan ng Bayan para sa Kalayaan (KABAKA) which was headed by Sen. Jovito Salonga as Chairman and Sen. Francisco “Soc” Rodrigo as Vice-Chairman.But the first big test of the Party’s strength in Metro Manila came during the 1978 Interim National Assembly Elections in which the Party had successfully wrested the control of the machinery of the semi-legal opposition groups Lakas ng Bayan (Strength of the People) from the national democrats.It had also engineered the highly successful noise barrage on the eve of the elections.

During the election day, the Party was able to mobilize 8,000 poll watchers.This show of force, however, proved to be inimical, as the Party plunged into its first major crisis. The Marcos military subjected thousands of Party followers and cadres who acted as poll watchers to physical injuries and arbitrary detention. A vicious crackdown resulted in the arrest of some 500 Party members and sympathizers while holding a peaceful prayer rally in protest of the massive fraud and terrorism perpetrated by the Marcos regime. Several more Party cadres were captured in subsequent raids. One of the Party’s candidate members, Comrade Teotimo Tantiado, a farmer from Camarines Sur, died from torture wounds.

The volatile situation was further complicated by a split in the Party engineered by some relatively new and ambitious members in the second echelon leadership. This led to the division of the Party into two factions, which in turn, forced the Chairman to resign.A majority of the cadres refused, however, to recognize the authority of the insurgent faction. Immediately thereafter these Party members organized the National Coordinating Council which was tasked to build and rectify the errors committed.

Despite the many setbacks experienced by the Party, some developments would prove positive for its immediate recovery. Party cadres intensified their organizing work and new people-based organizations under the Party’s influence were formed. The most prominent of these was the Sandigan ng Malayang Kabataan (Union of Free Youth).While in the process of recovery, the Party would again experience some blows with the military-instigated murders of Comrade Simplicio Pesquiza who organized his fellow workers in Silang, Cavite, and Comrade Elmo Cagape, another Party organizer from Digos, Davao del Sur.

THE AUGUST BOMBINGS AND THE PARTY’S REJECTION OF URBAN TERRORISM

The months of May to October 1980 saw an effort by some elements of democratic opposition, both in the Philippines and abroad, to destabilize the U.S. imperialist-backed Marcos regime and to force the dictator to surrender power through negotiations. An invitation was extended to the NPDSP to adopt this strategy. The party refused to take part because of its belief that no revolutionary strategy will ever succeed without the support of the broad rural masses in the countryside. However, some unscrupulous organizers projected the Party and Sandigan as the principal elements in the destabilization campaign. Thus, when some 50 bombs exploded in Manila from August to October, the Marcos henchmen were again behind the trails of the Party, pushing it deeper into the underground and seriously stifling its organizing efforts.Undaunted by such adverse developments, the party continued to consolidate and expand its mass base.

On December 1980, the NPDSP dropped the modifier “Nagkakaisang” to demonstrate that the merger process between the LakasDiwa and the PDSP has been completed and as a result the Party readopted its original name when it was founded-the PDSP.

THE MNLF CONNECTION

On March 18, 1981, the Party formally recognized the national identity of the Bangsa Moro people. This resulted in the strengthening of the relations between the Party and the MNLF on one hand, and the Sandigan and the Bangsa Moro Army on the other.The recognition of the Bangsa Moro people’s identity extended by the Party was aimed at promptly recovering the political unity of the people of the Philippine archipelago and uniting the revolutionary democratic forces against the US-Marcos dictatorship.

THE RECTIFICATION OF ERRORS

Complementing the successful MNLF-PDSP cooperation was the healing of the wounds caused by the 1978 crisis. The first sign that the internal crisis was over was the dissolution of the national Coordinating Council and the election of the Central Committee members held sometime in may 1980.

The next year, after consulting the Party cadres nationwide, the Central Committee started the process of rectifying the errors of the past.This led to the radical amendments in the Party’s organizational structures and policies in order to unify the authority and responsibility in the Party. The Party’s political line was also refined to include such policies as commitment to all forms of struggle (legal, extra-legal, armed struggles), advocacy of authentic politics based on issues, separation from the two extremist forces, consolidation of a democratic socialist coalition, active non-alignment toward a just international order, the promotion of a voluntary politico-economic federation of nations.It was also at this time that the Party resolved to adopt a two-pronged tactical plan in its battle against the dictatorship. One plan involved the participation of the PDSP and its allies in the armed struggle in the form of people’s war; the other plan involved the consolidation, expansion and intensification of the legal and extra-legal framework of the PDSP and its allies in the hope of toppling the dictatorship through non-violent means.

THE AQUINO ASSASSINATION: EDSA AND ITS CHALLENGES

The advent of the eighties saw the loosening of Marcos’ grips on the country. Despite his efforts to disguise stability by nominally lifting Martial Law, Marcos’ iron fist had already shown signs of weakness. The country’s economy was going from bad to worse; government officials became ungovernable; even the military had already shown signs of displeasure towards the dictator.Seeing opportunities in these ominous signs, the party intensified its extra-legal work through fraternal organizations. Rallies, symposia, and other forms of protest were mounted.

Then the unexpected happened. Ninoy Aquino, the number one oppositionist of Marcos, was assassinated at the Manila as well as in some key cities around the country.In another desperate bid to assert his authority, Marcos called for a snap presidential election. When Cory Aquino agreed to run, the Party mobilized all its resources behind the widow-in-yellow. Such move was also a desperate one on the part of the Party to oust Marcos through non-violent means.

When Marcos succeeded in manipulating the COMELEC and the Batasang Pambansa into proclaiming him as winner, the Party started focusing its strategy on the armed struggle. But the EDSA uprising came. Although most Party leaders already seemed wary about non-violent struggle, they nevertheless rode on to the idea and mobilized all its mass bases, even those from as far as Batangas and Pampanga to form a significant part of what is now known as people power.

Two years have passed after the events at EDSA. Although Cory Aquino has yet to initiate a significant change in the system, the PDSP has no regrets participating in the uprising. On the contrary the party makes a firm resolve to protect the gains of the EDSA experiences and make the most out of the present situation.This can be attested by the resolution of the Party’s last Reconstitutive Congress to come out into open and join the electoral exercises in the future. The PDSP is already confident of its strength. It is already ready to face the challenges from any fronts, and most willing to submit its ideals and programs to the citizens of the Philippines.

DURING THE RESTORATION OF LIBERAL DEMOCRACY

On April 1986: Madrid exiles return to the homeland, December 1987: Congress of Reorganization, at Sacred Heart Novitiate, Quezon City; Chair: Norberto Gonzales; General Secretary: Marianito Canonigo.During the Aquino administration the PDSP helps in the organization and mobilization of democratic sectoral and multisectoral groups, in order to consolidate democracy, help in the delivery of social services, and combat attempts of the extreme left and the extreme right to seize state power.

10 December 1990, Human Rights Day: New People’s Army assassins kill Negros sugar worker leaders Comrade Ernesto Gonzales and party ally Edilberto Federico, after they barged in at a meeting of the Lakas Manggagawa Labor Center (LMLC) at the Institute of Social Order (ISO), Social Development Complex, Ateneo de Manila University

March 1990: PDSP attains recognition by the Commission on Elections as a national political party.

1991: Second Congress of the PDSP, at Institute of Social Order, Santa Ana, Manila; Chair: Norberto Gonzales; General Secretary: Rolando Librojo1995: PDSP becomes a consultative member of the Socialist Internationale.

1995: Third Congress of the PDSP, at Auditorium of the Social Development Complex at the Loyola Heights Campus of the Ateneo de Manila University; a faction splits away to eventually form the Social Democratic Caucus; Norberto Gonzales re-elected Chair, Efren Villaseñor elected General Secretary

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

August 2000 to January 2001: PDSP plays major role in the impeachment of former President Joseph Ejercito Estrada, and in the accession to power of President Gloria Macapagal - ArroyoPDSP enters the administration coalition, with party Chair Norberto Gonzales becoming Presidential Adviser for Special Concerns in 2001, and becoming National Security Adviser in 2005

27-29 December 2003: Special Congress of the PDSP, at Bay View Hotel, Manila ; Norberto Gonzales re-elected Chair, Elizabeth Angsioco elected Vice-Chair, Timoteo Aranjuez elected General Secretary

2001, 2004, 2007 elections: gradual increase in electoral successes; in local government units and in the House of RepresentativesImplementation of Party Response to the Revolutionary Situation (2005) improves party systems, leads to recruitment of talented and trained persons, makes it more effective, better able to project its position; consolidation ongoing

January 2007: Atty. Ramel Muria becomes Acting General Secretary