By ALVIN LUQUE
In the past three years, several speculations about my absence from the progressive movement in urban centers in Mindanao have come out. The AFP, through its propaganda spin-doctors, has consistently vilified me through black propaganda, saying even, at one time, that I was already dead.
These speculations must end, and it must be pointed out that the US-Arroyo regime will stop at nothing until and unless it has snuffed-out the life of every dissenter in the nation. Therefore, I must tell the truth: there is no way out of the brutality and impunity under this government except to fight against it.
As I have said in 2007, I would not surrender myself to the whims and desires of the reactionary government, which resorts to silencing activists through political assassinations. I would have wanted, finally, to have my day in court, but I feared that, once arrested, I was vulnerable to all sorts of attack, especially from the AFP which considered me an ‘enemy of the state.’ Therefore, I have chosen not to submit myself to the processes of the law under the present reactionary government in the interest primarily of self-preservation, and to be effective still in contributing to the people’s struggle for national liberation and democracy.
Alvin Luque reads a script of the play staged during the 41st celebration of the Communist Party of the Philippines in Caraga region. The play depicted problems of the Philippine society and the history of the Communist movement. (davaotoday.com photo by Jose Hernani)
Under the US-Arroyo regime, more than a thousand of its critics and dissenters have been victimized by extra-judicial killings, including journalists, media workers, lawyers and the religious. Justice indeed has a bleak prospect under the current regime. I cannot sit idly by, stand watch, and simply bear one gruesome murder after another, and still pretend the situation is fine. Just action must be taken. Therefore, it is incumbent upon me to do everything in my power not just to live but also to go on living fighting for the people whom this regime incessantly exploit and oppress.
Yes, I have chosen to seek refuge under the revolutionary movement, particularly with the Communist Party of the Philippines, New People’s Army and the National Democratic Front. This is the most logical choice on my part because these are the very organizations that can guarantee not only my protection from political killings but also, above all, freedom of the people from the oppressive grip of a reactionary fascist state. I am still breathing and fighting precisely because of this choice.
I have taken the opportunity to reveal before the media with regard my present state and involvement to say to the public that we do not have to be hapless and helpless under this exploitative social system. There is, in fact, hope. And our hope, as a people, lie with the national democratic revolution. To side with the revolution is to side with freedom, justice, and life. Let no lie peddled by the Arroyo government or the AFP distort this.
This has been my personal choice. This does not in any way prove that the organizations I was involved with in the legal arena and the revolutionary forces that I have sought refuge in are one and the same.
I also plead innocent to the criminal charges leveled against me before a court in Davao City. I did not commit any of those acts. I would have wanted to face trial and articulate my side of the case, but that, like I said, was impossible given the state of impunity under this regime.
I have no regrets with the choice I have made because I still have my life (thanks to the NPA as my sanctuary) and I will use this life to make my mark, together with other revolutionaries, in liberating the people from a rotten society. And should I die in the course of this fight, it is one death I know that is well worth bearing.
Alvin M. Luque, the former secretary-general of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, finally got to talk about his choice to reporters covering the 41st celebration of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).
