Vol. VI, No. 18 - September 30, 2024
In the Philippines, the reactionary government is controlled by the ruling classes of big bourgeois compradors and landlords, run by bureaucrat capitalists who serve the interests of imperialists and their own factions. This system, characterized by corruption, sees some of the worst bureaucrats siphoning billions of pesos into personal overseas accounts. Currently, tensions between the rival Marcos Jr. and Duterte factions are escalating as the 2025 midterm elections approach, with Marcos attempting to consolidate power and Duterte trying to preserve his political influence.
Amidst this power struggle, it remains uncertain if Marcos Jr. will allow Duterte to be arrested and tried by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity, particularly for his involvement in extrajudicial killings during his war on drugs. Meanwhile, U.S. imperialists are positioning themselves to support alternative political factions for the 2028 elections, including former military officers and anti-communist groups.
Ongoing congressional investigations have highlighted the deep-rooted corruption in the political system, exposing how bureaucrats are involved in criminal activities, including illegal drugs and gambling operations. These investigations have particularly shed light on Duterte’s ties to Chinese criminal syndicates through Philippine Overseas Gambling Operations (POGOs), which were fronts for online scams, prostitution, and other illegal operations. These syndicates, operating with Duterte’s protection, are also involved in smuggling, human trafficking, and other nefarious activities.
Further, revelations during the 2025 budget hearings have implicated Vice President Sara Duterte in significant financial anomalies. Large sums of confidential funds were flagged by the Commission on Audit (COA) for being unaccounted for, leading to calls for her impeachment on charges of betrayal of public trust. Despite this, Sara Duterte has refused to address these accusations and boycotted congressional hearings.
Under the the grounds of impeachment for betrayal of public trust, the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, a patriotic alliance of progressive organizations, is now drafting the impeachment petition against VP Sara Duterte. Several solons have signified their intention of supporting the petition.
Marcos Jr., while distancing himself from Duterte’s bloody war on drugs, has allowed the illegal drug trade to shift control from Chinese syndicates to the U.S.-Mexico Sinaloa cartel. He has secured U.S. backing by expanding its military presence in the Philippines as part of U.S. efforts to counter China’s growing influence in the region. Despite his claims of clean governance, corruption under Marcos Jr.’s regime has worsened. He controls billions of pesos through confidential funds and unprogrammed budgets, which are not subject to public audit. Marcos has also used the Maharlika Investment Fund to favor business allies, enriching cronies like Ramon Ang, Enrique Razon, and the Villar and Aboitiz families.
The Filipino masses suffer under this bureaucrat capitalist system, burdened by taxes while lacking essential services like healthcare, education, and housing. The state’s military and police, who benefit from the system, enforce fascist control, often resorting to violence against those who resist. Under Marcos Jr., the Philippines exemplifies a bureaucrat capitalist, fascist, and neocolonial state, where oppression and exploitation intensify.
The Marcos regime is presently the most concentrated expression of the bureaucrat capitalist, fascist and neocolonial state. The worsening forms of oppression and exploitation and the grave socioeconomic conditions under the Marcos regime underscore the necessity and urgency of the Filipino people’s fight to end imperialism, feudalism and bureaucrat capitalism, and put an end to the semicolonial and semifeudal system.
The national democratic forces are the solid and determined core and vanguard of the anti-fascist united front.