Vol. VIII, No. 11 - June 15, 2026
Decades ago, a Filipino statesman remarked, “The Philippines is constantly ravaged by destructive natural events like floods, drought, epidemics, typhoons, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. But the worst of all disasters are the politicians.”
In fact, the corrupt politicians that rule the country with an iron hand are a feature of an impoverished semicolonial and semifeudal state that, inspite of of very rich natural and human resources in the country, is utterly unable to provide thorough preparation, adequate response and sufficient rehabilitation to several dozen severe natural calamities that hit the archipelago each year.
The strong earthquake that hit Sarangani province and surrounding areas in Mindanao is the latest case in point.
At least 60 fatalities have been reported, over a thousand were injured and more than 30 still missing. More than 346,000 people across Mindanao have been affected, while 18,600 houses and structures like schools, hospitals, commercial buildings and roads were damaged or destroyed in General Santos City, South Cotabato and Sarangani.
The Communist Party of the Philippines, while extending firm solidarity to the people of Sarangani and neighboring provinces and condolences to the families of those killed and injured, immediately called on the Filipino people to link arms and deliver needed assistance to those severely affected by the earthquake.
The revolutionary organizations under the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) and the NDF-Mindanao, together with the Red fighters of the New People’s Army have been working closely to deliver all necessary assistance to the affected masses for their immediate relief and recovery.
But local and international groups criticize the Marcos Jr regime’s lack of attention before calamities and leaving communities vulnerable to precarious living conditions. Amnesty International Philippines section director Ritz Lee Santos III said, “This is not simply a result of natural hazards but unnatural disasters made possible by the lack of commitment of local government units to make certain that communities can thrive despite disasters.”
Carlos Isagani Zarate, former Bayan Muna representative, on the other hand, demanded the Ferdinand Marcos Jr. administration fulfill its mandate to build disaster-resilient evacuation centers. Beyond infrastructure, Zarate called for a comprehensive review of environmental policies that exacerbate disasters.
On July 4, 1946, US imperialism “granted” the Philippines false independence and established a puppet and fascist state, and with the big compradors, big landlords bureaucrat-capitalists, also a semicolonial and semifeudal state.
Since then, the Philippines has been mired in endless economic crisis, preserved the backward feudal system and turned the country into an exporter of cheap raw materials. It forced the country into foreign debt in exchange for imposing neoliberal policies, stripping forests bare, plundering mountains, seizing minerals, and grabbing hundreds of thousands of hectares of land.
The present political battle between the Marcos and Duterte factions reveals unprecedented levels of corruption in all levels of the bureaucracy in the midst of unprecedented depths of poverty and suffering of the masses. That the corruption is centered on plundering the funds for public works projects like flood control exposes the already suffering masses of the people to the onslaught of incoming natural disasters exacerbated by global warming.
We must unite and vigorously advance the struggle for true independence and democracy, get rid of biggest disaster that is the traditional politicians, and ourselves work together to prepare for incoming natural disasters, do rescue and relief work, and realize full rehabilitation of all affected areas.