THE Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) on Saturday predicted that President Rodrigo, who marked his second year in office, would likely be ousted before his six-year term ends.
“There is high probability that Duterte will not be able to complete his six-year term of office and will be forced out of Malacañang by way of a surge in anti-fascist protest actions or some other means,” the CPP said in a statement.
The clamor for Duterte’s ouster was growing with unpopular programs such as the tax reform law that has raised prices all around, the anti-drug war that has claimed thousands of lives, the communists said.
They also said the President was “pulling down the country’s national dignity to the lowest levels” by doing nothing about Chinese aggression in the South China Sea.
The communist tirade came after Duterte postponed scheduled peace talks with the CPP and National Democratic Front (NDF).
CPP founding chairman Jose Maria Sison responded by saying the communists would rather wait for the next administration to talk peace again, and join efforts to oust Duterte.
The prediction of Duterte’s downfall made for good headlines, but a closer examination of the communist position suggests it is an exercise in wishful thinking more than anything else.
First, the communist rebels have no natural affinity with any other groups that might want to oust the President, legally or by force of arms, except the leftist groups that are already in its corner.
Second, the CCP statement exposes ideological blinders that show it has clearly lost a grip on reality.
For example, the communists rail against “the US-Duterte” regime, that is “far weaker than the Marcos dictatorship” but fails to explain how the alleged conspiracy with the Americans directly contradicts the President’s almost fawning attitude towards the Chinese, particularly when it comes to asserting our rights in the South China Sea.
Finally, the communists are hardly the authority on how to topple the government. After all, Mr. Sison and his comrades have been at it for the last 50 years, and have come nowhere close to achieving their objectives. Their 50th anniversary this year marks plenty of death and destruction over the last five decades—but no success. And each year Mr. Sison conducts his class war by remote control from the Netherlands makes him look less credible and more out of touch with the reality back in his home country.