The Struggle to Oust Duterte, Imperialism, and Capitalist Rule

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is pushing through the “Anti Terror Bill.” If it were passed, it would give Duterte dictatorial powers, allowing the imprisonment of any political opposition without a trial. However, the bill has sparked national outrage and resistance. The situation is volatile, and he may be forced to back down. 

Teodorico “Teody” Duran Navea is Secretary General of the Partido Lakas ng Masa (Party of the Laboring Masses – PLM), a socialist party in the Philippines. Navea was gracious enough to grant this interview while he himself is recovering from COVID-19. Thankfully, he seems to be making a full recovery. 

In this interview with Ryan Powers, recorded on June 8, Navea explains the political, economic, and imperialist causes driving Duterte to push through the bill. He also discusses the popular resistance against the bill and the corresponding government repression and hypocrisy. We publish this transcript of Ryan’s conversation with Teody with very minor edits, in a wish to preserve his voice and not substitute it for an Americanized version.

Ryan Powers:  Hi Teody. It’s good to see you. To start with, can you talk about your experience getting Covid and recovering?

Teodorico Duran Navea:  Hello Ryan. Sure. Since the lockdown started, the PLM started a routine to give foodstuffs to the homeless. On May 20, we visited an area and provided the people there with some relief and food. I think that is when I contracted the virus. The following day, I experienced a running fever for two days. On the third day the fever stopped but unfortunately I experienced diarrhea for two more days. On May 25 I lost my sense of smell and taste. So I arranged a medical check-up.

The next day or so, my fever recurred, and on the 28th I had my check-up. I was told to wait between ten and fourteen days for my test results. Until then, I religiously took the medicines my doctor gave me.

By June 3, I got a call from the barangay¹ health worker and was told I tested positive. Two hours later, they picked me up outside of my residence and brought me to this facility. Today is my sixth day here, and my symptoms are improving. My fever has stopped, and I have regained my sense of smell and taste. I have no more dry cough, and I’m still taking my medicine.

RP: I’m glad to hear you’re improving. Can you say more about the work with the homeless you were doing when you contracted it?

TDN:  Yes. We were not only giving relief and foodstuffs, but we also responded to issues of concern. In fact for the last few months of the lockdown, we were able to conduct actions, even if it was prohibited. We organized online actions. People would record themselves holding placards with demands on them while they conducted a “noise barrage,” and the videos were collected and published on social media all at once. 

For example, during the first week of April, we did one of these synchronized online actions. We put forward our three demands. One, for mass testing; two, for the government to provide food to all during the lockdown, and three, for the government to take action and support the workers and poor people whose livelihoods were displaced by the pandemic.

We raised these demands again for a May 1 action. Here in Cebu City, we were able to muster nine different communities to participate. Beyond Cebu, people participated all over the country, including Mindanao and the Capital of Manila. 

Unfortunately in Manila, two of our comrades were arrested during their noise barrage. The National Vice President of the BMP,² Carlito Rastica, and another BMP leader in Manila, Rolando Dulay, were arrested. They spent nearly a week in prison on charges of violating the social distancing requirements of the lockdown. In terms of the conditions of the jail, they were locked up in a space with 87 others, who were also locked up on charges of violating social distancing. Unfortunately, one of these prisoners died of Covid. 

We assigned a lawyer for our two comrades, contested their case, and the case was dismissed. But unfortunately, the other 87 are still there because they don’t have access to lawyers to take up their case.

RP: Can you say more about the circumstances surrounding the two arrested comrades?

TDN: They were protesting in a vacant lot area. They observed physical distancing during the action. 

The court ruled that there was no basis for them to be locked up. The judge dismissed the case once our lawyer presented the video of what really happened, going against the police who filed the case. The court actually insisted there was nothing wrong with the online action, and that’s why they were released.

Regarding the 87 people still locked up where they were. They are ordinary citizens who were pursued by the police. The police arrested them, but they don’t have access to lawyers like we did for our two comrades.

RP: So this is part of the build-up to the authoritarian Anti Terror Bill. Can you speak more about the broader state of the Philippines and the recent bill being pushed through?

TDN:  We are currently in our GCQ (General Community Quarantine). About two or three days ago, the bill popularly known as the “Anti Terror Bill” was approved both by the lower house and the upper house. It was submitted to the President for signing, which is expected to take place this week. What is this all about, the bill?

It is a rehash of a previous law known as the Human Security Act of 2007. This 2020 bill revises that act. If you look into the content of the 2020 bill, the definition of “terrorism” is broken. It is now any case of dissent, any case of opposition, and even participating in any civil society organization can have you labeled as a terrorist. In this bill, anybody can be judged a terrorist. And what would the consequences of being labeled a terrorist be?

First of all, you could be arrested any time without a warrant. Once arrested, you can be detained for up to a month, and that detainment would automatically qualify you for being imprisoned for twelve years! This is the bill that was approved by both houses and is being presented to the President for signing.

So far, this has created a lot of clamor among the people. Many lawmakers who supported the bill have now retracted their support—around twenty of them so far. We don’t know for sure yet if the bill will go into effect because many lawmakers are retracting their support. One congressman is calling for a House review to be conducted and be divulged to the people, and he is doing this because many people are voicing opposition against the bill.

In fact, the Catholic Church issued a statement calling for civil disobedience. They are calling on people to not pay their taxes in retaliation against what our lawmakers did.

RP:  Wow. Even the Catholic Church is calling for disobedience?

TDN:  Yeah. What they are saying to the people is, “You don’t have to pay your taxes this month. Don’t pay them on June 15 unless they stop pursuing this bill.” 

Originally, our income tax deadline was April 15, but because of the lockdown, it was adjusted to June 15. It was a crucial thing to do at the time.

I have to tell you about another recent event. Last Friday some students at the University of the Philippines (UP) here in Cebu, they came up with a lightning rally, with eight of them participating. They were all arrested, and they are still locked up in jail. There is a court date to follow up on their case, but we don’t know any developments yet, or whether they will be released.

Another instance that happened was in Manila where seven drivers were arrested for protesting the Anti Terror Bill. The students who were arrested were partly protesting this case, too.

The same day as the student protest, the mayor of Cebu City held a birthday party for himself, and no physical distancing was instituted. If I was enforcing the social distancing laws, I would have had grounds to arrest the people who gathered, but the law enforcement did not touch them. 

The students? There were only eight of them, they observed physical distancing, and now they are in jail. It’s the same with the drivers in Manila. PLM held a rally at UP last Friday, and we were lucky because we were not arrested.

But this is some of what has been happening in response to the bill. There have been many, many protests.

RP:  So the mayor could break social distancing laws to celebrate his birthday, but students and drivers got arrested for protesting the government even though they obeyed social distancing laws?

TDN: Yeah, because he is the mayor. The same thing happened in Manila earlier in the lockdown. Did you know that a military general held his birthday party there with many people? They may have partied with facemasks, but they still broke social distancing laws, and they were not touched by the law.  

Another case involved a senator. Senator Aquilino Pimentel III. He is Covid-19 positive, and he roamed around a hospital, getting close to the people there. And because he is a senator, he cannot be touched, when in fact he clearly violated the law. Still now, no one ever filed a case, never accosted him to be in prison. 

But the ordinary people in the Philippines, they are powerless. They have no power. These people are the law, and it is very unfair. If you are a powerful man like a senator, a powerful man like a general, you cannot be apprehended by the law because you have power. But if you are a student, if you are a driver, if you are an ordinary citizen, then you have no power, and you can be arrested any time.

RP:  The hypocrisy and injustice is disgusting.

TDN:  By the way, the people who attended the mayor’s birthday, Mayor Edgardo Labella of Cebu City, the attendees were not ordinary people either. Those who registered in the log book were mostly local officials from the barangay and other leaders from various Cebu City barangays.

RP:  Regarding the Anti Terror Bill which has sparked national protest: what are the economic and political reasons for the bill?

TDN:  Duterte wants to capitalize on the pandemic situation. During the lockdown especially, the government is faced by many irregularities, and they feel insecure about their reign. So they came up with a law that would let them quell dissent. They felt a danger that during the lockdown, people might complain, take to the streets, and not take the poverty the government oversees lying down. So these are some of the political reasons for the bill. 

Duterte is already preparing for the 2022 presidential election. He wants to come up with a dictatorial form of government so that his graceful exit in 2022 will be to his advantage. In fact, he is already grooming his daughter, Sara Duterte, to be the standard bearer of 2022. This bill is very political in nature. The regime wants to ensure that they are in control of the situation, and in control of the opposition.

RP:  So the nature of the bill is to consolidate power for Duterte and allow him to quell dissent?

TDN:  Yes, and if it passes, it will give powers to the state agents. Meaning the police, the military; these will be strengthened to help quell dissent, to be incorporated into a state machinery which ensures the political ambition of President Duterte. And again, if you look at the law, simply participating in a civil society organization will make you eligible to be called a terrorist. And if you are labeled a terrorist, then the police easily arrest you without a warrant. They would be allowed to detain you for a month-long detention, and then that detention will automatically qualify you to be penalized with twelve years in prison! So how’s that?

RP:  Can you talk more about how Duterte has overseen the Philippine economy?

TDN:  He made promises on four major issues, and still now, not a single one has been fulfilled. One, prior to his presidency, he promised to regularize jobs, meaning he would get rid of the temporary contractualization which makes workers more precarious. But he has now declared that he is pro-capitalist and will not allow any regularization of jobs, so that’s one failed promise. Second, he said in six months that he would solve the “drug problem” in six months. Three years in, the drug problem is anything but solved. Third, he promised to produce a new layer of middle class people and that a 30,000 peso minimum wage would be enjoyed by Filipino workers. Nothing has happened on that. And lastly, he promised to create new jobs. No jobs have been created, and in fact, unemployment is on the rise. So these are four broken promises to the Filipino people.

So now one thing he is doing is hiring trolls, partly because many of his real supporters no longer support him. The citizens are realizing they have been fooled into voting for the same kind of president as before. But these trolls are very active on social media, and they are being paid by Duterte, receiving 30,000 pesos a month as trolls.³

RP: Okay so we’ve talked a bit about the political and economic context surrounding the bill. How does imperialism affect Duterte’s decisions? How does imperialism from the United States and other major powers affect Philippine economics and politics?

TDN:  Duterte is playing with fire right now in regards to his relations with the US and China. Very recently he renewed his Visiting Forces Agreement with the US. He’s doing this because he is seeking new loans through the World Bank and the IMF, both run by the US government. He’s seeking billions of dollars as part of his economic recovery plan. But he also is no stranger to securing loans from China, which suggests that he is not actually supporting only one imperialist country, but he is playing around with them.

And he has to show them that he will be able to pay them back, so that is partly where the Anti Terror Bill comes in. It is a law that will allow him to control the country, the people of his country. If it passes, it would signal to the US imperialists that they can count on him to pay them back. Besides that and allowing US Visiting Forces, who knows what else he may do to secure new loans?

RP:  Can you say more about how the Anti Terror Bill is related to US loans and Duterte’s obligations to pay them back?

TDN:  Basically, if the bill passes, then that tells the US, “Anything you would want, Duterte can implement now.” The bill would make Duterte more secure, more in control of the country, in terms of the loans, in terms of quelling dissent, and in terms of ensuring the loans that the country will use will not be wasted from the US point of view. These are the kinds of things that any imperialist would want from the countries they subjugate.

RP:  And you also mentioned Duterte’s relations with China. Can you say more about that?

TDN:  Duterte has related with China much in the same way as with the US. He has secured many loans from China. So if China violates some Sea or Air agreements with the Philippines, Duterte is not so vocal. He hasn’t taken a stance against China. And this is because of the money he has secured from them. He plans to use these loans for his “Build, Build, Build” project (or “Build Project” for short). A lot of money is supposed to go toward this project. The Build Project is supposed to build bridges, telecommunication infrastructure, and other infrastructure that Duterte promised during his presidency.

RP:  What is your analysis of this project?

TDN:  To the extent that this helps with social development, there will be a tremendous social cost for the Filipino people. In theory, something like this could be a good project, but this is being carried out in a very biased way. It is pro-capitalist. Not only will this project plunge the country into more loans, more debts like the ones already subjugating us. It is the everyday people who will have to pay for it. The program shouldn’t just be a project to build our economic infrastructure for the benefit of capitalists and imperialists. It should also develop the people. But it will further subjugate them. So that is my take on the Build Program.

RP:  So basically, since Duterte is relying almost entirely on imperial loans for this project, you’re saying that any value produced by the project will be extracted by these imperialists and the national capitalists? And meanwhile, the Filipino people will be the ones truly paying for the loans?

TDN:  Yes! Exactly.

RP:  Regarding his relation with the imperialist powers, you said he is playing with fire when he plays around with both the US and their major rival, China. Can you say more about what the consequences of this are?

TDN:  Yes. It could be considered ironic. When Duterte ascended to power, he openly declared that his government would apply an independent foreign policy. But what is happening instead is the complete opposite. This isn’t an independent foreign policy. Instead he’s further subjugating the Philippines to both the US and China, and he is doing this for his own benefit, not for the Filipino people. This is all very detrimental to the Filipino people. What the people can expect is more harm than good:  more threats to our national security from the imperialist powers. Further loans and debts, just selling the country to the imperialists.

RP:  Is there a possibility that the competition between the US and China may play out through military conflict in the Philippines somehow?

TDN:  Yes, it’s not impossible. Anything can happen. And that’s why I say he’s playing with fire. Whatever consequences come out of his foreign policy, it will only be detrimental for the Filipino people.

And to go back to the national economy. The Philippines actually inherited loans accrued from the Marcos Regime,⁴ and now we are only continuing the old problem. I don’t think the Philippines will be able to recover from this in the next few years. I cannot see any possible future for the economy, and right now economic growth has stagnated. I don’t think the administration will be able to fulfill his promise of economic recovery.

Even if he can secure more loans, that would not assure him economic recovery because even prior to the lockdown the economy was already declining in terms of growth.

In many ways Duterte is just a continuation of his predecessors. Did he “clean out the government” like he promised? No. It is still corrupt. Take the budget that was allotted to help victims of Super Typhoon Yolanda in 2013. To this day, there were billions of pesos budgeted to be spent on the recovery, and they cannot be accounted for! The victims have not recovered well. The government was unable to provide housing, and still no housing has been built. There were rehabilitation funds, but where are they being used? Now that is the context for why I say this administration is nothing different from the previous corrupt predecessors! They keep getting funds, but the people are not receiving the benefit of any projects.

This is all what should be understood by people around the world. The country is still having this kind of corruption. This is unabated corruption, mismanaged government, and this corruption is not only evidenced at the national level, but from the barangay level and all the way up. These people are all corrupt.

RP:  Thank you for explaining that. The Yolanda victims still have not received government help despite the government receiving so many loans from imperialist countries.

TDN:  And billions of those pesos are being siphoned too! Billions of pesos have been allotted to rebuild streets of the areas destroyed by Yolanda, but how come? Where is the money? And now when the government talks about the lockdown, they say they are having problems finding money to help people?

RP:  When Duterte was first elected, he was very popular. What is his popularity like now? 

TDN:  I don’t think he is still popular right now. That is my opinion. If you think right now that his popularity has not waned, it’s not true, and surveys can be manipulated. Surveys operate because of money, and I don’t think the real sentiments of the people are being surveyed. You can see that the people are reacting, people are realizing, and people are talking against the government.

The bill is being submitted to the president for signing this week. We don’t know what will happen. Some congressmen have already recalled their approval of the bill and have tried to recall their signatures. If more members of parliament retract, that may affect the bill being signed.

RP:  How many people would you say have been protesting so far?

TDN:  It’s happening nationwide, although because of the physical distancing, we can no longer muster huge numbers for protest actions. But in terms of protests across the nation, it is sprouting nationwide in many places like Mindanao, Cebu, Manila, and more.

RP:  What do you think needs to happen to defeat the bill?

TDN:  Several things could help defeat the bill. One, if the position of the Catholic Church does not wane and continues to gain sympathies from the Filipino people, that would be a major factor. Second, if the people not only heed the call of the church but also come up with their own responses, like protests, that would be another factor. Again, already twenty members have retracted their support from the bill. So if this kind of thing goes on in the next days and weeks, the bill could be defeated.

RP:  It seems really significant that the Catholic Church is against the bill. Can you speak about their power in Filipino society?

TDN:  It’s a major thing here. We are predominantly a Catholic country. Ninety percent of the population is Catholic, and much of the Philippines is run by the Catholic hierarchy in many ways. So if the church stays against the bill, that would really pose a serious matter. Many would heed the calls, and we would expect a lot of change.

The Catholic Church studied the bill, too, and they were also alarmed by the label of terrorist in the bill. They don’t see it in their interest for history to repeat itself and for martial law to come back like during the Marcos Regime. Many Filipinos suffered, were killed, disappeared, or imprisoned, obviously including many Catholic Filipinos.

RP:  How can people outside of the Philippines help you in your struggles?

TDN:  We need to strengthen the solidarity we need in these trying times, like providing moral and any material support to our own struggle. We need to exchange and share ideas to further advance our fight against fascism and the imperialist nations.

RP:  Thank you, Teody. It was a pleasure.

TDN:  You too. It was good to see you.

1. A barangay is similar to a barrio, and it is how local governments within greater areas such as cities are divided.
2. Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (Solidarity of Filipino Workers, a sister organization of the PLM).
3. Here is a Washington Post story about this.
4. The Marcos Era was overthrown by the Philippine People Power Revolution of 1986.