Nemenzo on the Philippine Left

Francisco “Dodong” Nemenzo was an outstanding intellectual not only in the Philippine Left but in the whole academic world. This book “Notes from the Philippine Underground” is a collection of essays written by Nemenzo, published by the University of the Philippines Press in 2024.

In the Introduction, it describes the book as consisting of three sets of essays. The first set consists of historical pieces where Nemenzo explained the rise and fall of the Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas (PKP) and its displacement by the younger Maoist rival, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). The first chapter is actually a very short autobiography of his early years growing up in Cebu. It also seeks to explain his early introduction to socialism and communism.

The second set of essays includes his analyses of the challenges to the Philippine Left with the decline and eventual collapse of the Marcos dictatorship.

He also has essays discussing the victory of the Corazon Aquino People Power revolution and its effect on the Left.

The third set of essays is his personal thoughts on the continuing relevance of Marxism and the possible future of Marxism and the future of the socialist agenda in the Philippines.

As a history of the Philippine Left, the book is among the most insightful that I have read. For example, he writes that the two Communist parties in the Philippines chose inaugural dates to affirm their dual character as a Filipino movement and as an integral part of the world socialist revolution. The PKP was organized on Aug. 26, 1930, which was the anniversary of the Cry of Balintawak which triggered the revolt against Spain. It was publicly launched on Nov. 7, 1930, the anniversary of the October Revolution in Russia.

The CPP was established on Dec. 26, 1968, the 75th birthday of Mao Zedong. Its military wing, the New People’s Army (NPA), was founded on March 29, 1969, the 17th anniversary of the HUKBALAHAP. In their official history, this proletarian movement claimed direct descent from the Katipunan, the 1896 Philippine Revolution, the Philippine-American War, the peasants’ uprising in 1925-1935 and the anti-Japanese resistance.

Another interesting story in the book is the split between the two leading youth organizations of the Left, the Kabataang Makabayan (KM) and the Samahang Demokratikong Kabataan (SDK). He narrates the story that begins with identifying the SDK as having started as a faction within the KM itself.

He devotes a lot of space also to the narration of the birth of Philippine communism. It began with the first leader, Crisanto Evangelista, in the 1930s. There are stories of subsequent leaders like Dr. Vicente Lava, Pedro Castro up to the time of Joma Sison and Bernabe Buscayno.

Another interesting section of the book is when he talks of the different ideological streams of the Philippine Left. He notes that the three are Marxist, Christian and Islamic.

I was very interested by his story of the Christian reformers who went underground during the martial law years. Their organization was the Philippine Democratic Socialist Party (PDSP) founded in 1973. This group offered a revolutionary but noncommunist alternative. It had its own military arm called the Sandigan.

He has a chapter devoted to the Aquino government, which was of special interest to me as a member of the Cory Aquino Cabinet. He identified the different component blocs of the Aquino government as UNIDO, PDP-LABAN, the Makati Mafia, Enrile and the Progressives. He has non-flattering references for three of the blocs, namely UNIDO, the Makati Mafia, and the Enrile camp.

The PDP-LABAN he refers to was founded by a union of the PDP led by Aquilino Pimentel and LABAN led by Ninoy Aquino. He says this party consists of “relatively young and vaguely reformist politicians.”

His highest praise is for the Progressive Bloc, which Nemenzo says is “a generic term for Cabinet ministers like Jose W. Diokno, Joker Arroyo, Augusto Sanchez, Rene Saguisag and Mita Pardo de Tavera. They are persons of impeccable integrity with unblemished records of resistance to the Marcos dictatorship… The Americans regard them with hostility and Big Business view them with suspicion… They are the most dependable allies of the socialist movement, far more so than the reformist politicians of PDP-LABAN.”

In his book, Nemenzo also discussed his days in the University of the Philippines, from his time as a professor, then as chancellor and finally as president of the university.

His final chapter is “The Political System in the Philippines in the 21st Century.” He has a very insightful analysis which describes the present political system as “… bearing all the characteristics of what Marx called the Bonapartist regime.” The main props of a Bonapartist regime are the coercive organs of the state which are the military, the police, the intelligence service and the bureaucracy. He has several conclusions in his final paragraph. These include the prospects of a socialist revolution.

He ends with a narrative of the Socialist Vision. This encapsulates the ideal objective for Philippine society. “… Socialism seeks to transcend the contradiction between community and the individual so that individuals may find fulfillment in the community and the community may progress through the free activity of its individual members…”