FFPS PRESS RELEASE: August 18, 2025

Friends of the Filipino People in Struggle (FFPS) hosted a global webinar to expose to an international audience that Philippine president Marcos is waging a war of suppression against the Filipino people whilst disguising this as ‘peace’ efforts.

“The National Action Plan (NAP-UPD)’s distorted data, analysis and road map are never about solving the causes of discontent, poverty and injustice that beset the Filipino people,” said Tinay Palabay of Karapatan. “It is a program meant to suppress and end all forms of struggle and protest against feudalism, bureaucratic capitalism and imperialism. So the NAP-UPD is in fact a national action plan for state terrorism, exploitation and oppression of the NTF-ELCAC.”

Palabay and Ida Palo of Karapatan Southern Tagalog highlighted the harsh realities faced by rural communities under focused military operations, which can involve a permanent presence of 600 to 700 soldiers across just four villages. They described this situation as “de facto martial law.”

“The military displaces [Indigenous groups], where they experience hamletting, profiling, and monitoring. This also involves varying degrees of military control, and oftentimes economic and food blockades in an effort to gate-keep the communities,” said Ida.

The webinar also highlighted the Filipino people’s aspirations for a genuine peace amidst repression. “That white terror in the countryside and cities has been unleashed on the Philippine people since 2018 and up to now, it has not abated. You have bombings, you have massacres,” said Victor Garces of IPE. “The Filipino people’s peace agenda is not simply to end this conflict. The people’s agenda is to achieve a just and lasting peace.”

Garces explained the structural roots of unpeace in the Philippines, including the question of land, lack of development, and employment issues. “The issues go to the heart of the existence of every Filipino, especially the poor, the marginalized, the oppressed, the exploited, all of whom face unpeace.”

Throughout the webinar, the speakers highlighted the resolve of the Filipino people to continue fighting for their rights. They emphasized that change comes from the people themselves and rejected the framework of Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR), which is designed by the US. “What is more important is to have just a lasting peace through the efforts of the people themselves,” said Garces. “The Filipino people have been involved in different ways of fighting. The Filipino people are an irrepressible people, and one of their major formations is the National Democratic Front, along with others.”

The webinar was closed off by solidarity activists urging people around the world to support the struggle for a just and lasting peace in the Philippines.

“We must intensify our solidarity with the Filipino people in their just struggle for liberation and so we call on all progressives, anti-fascists and anti-imperialist to join us on August 26th – in commemoration of the Cry of Pugad Lawin – for our Global Day of Action to expose and oppose the GRP’s war of suppression in the guise of peace,” said Simon Kahn from FFPS.

About Friends of the Filipino People in Struggle (FFPS):

Friends of the Filipino People in Struggle (FFPS) / Friends of the National Democratic Front (FNDF) is a global organization that supports the Filipino people’s struggle for genuine national liberation as outlined in the 12 point program of the NDF. For more information, visit https://ffps.info.

---