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Philippines Ideology and Strategy
The CPP's ideology was taken largely from Chinese communism
and adapted to circumstances in the Philippines. CPP chairman
Sison's writings, which drew heavily on Mao Zedong's philosophy,
provided the theoretical basis for the movement. Chief among them
was Philippine Society and Revolution, published in 1970
under the pseudonym Amado Guerrero and often referred to as the
CPP's bible. Sison characterized the Philippines as a semifeudal,
semicolonial society "ruthlessly exploited" by United States
imperialists, the "comprador big bourgeoisie," landlords, and
bureaucratic capitalists. Armed revolution was viewed as the only
way to overthrow the "United States-Marcos regime" (later the
"United States-Aquino regime"), free the people from their
oppression, and institute a people's democratic revolution. This
proletarian revolution to overthrow the exploiting classes was to
be propelled by an alliance between peasants and workers.
Sison's works outlined several important strategic maxims.
The revolution had to be flexible, adapt itself to local
situations, and employ self-criticism. CPP strategy emphasized
political over military struggle. The key was to create a broad
national alliance, establish front groups, and employ coalitions
to broaden support for the CPP's revolutionary struggle. On the
military front, the party adopted the Maoist principle of
protracted people's war, attempting to establish a strong rural
base and encircle the cities from the countryside. Finally, the
CPP's chairman emphasized that the revolution must exploit the
country's fractured geography by spreading throughout the
mountainous island nation.
Data as of June 1991
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