The founding members of the PKP came from members of the
Partido Obrero de Filipinas, a labor-centered party formed in opposition to the leading
Nacionalista and Democrata Parties at the time. Most of the members of the Partido Obrero were also leading figures in the labor movement, including PKP founders
Crisanto Evangelista, Antonino D. Ora, Jacinto Manahan, and Domingo Ponce. Evangelista and his group were increasingly being radicalized towards left-wing politics through their increasing involvement with the
Comintern,
Profintern, and the
CPUSA. Particularly, in 1928, Evanglista, Manahan, and Cirilo Bognot went to the
Soviet Union to attend the Profintern's Fourth Congress. These people were also leading figures in the
Congreso Obrero de Filipinas, the leading trade federation at the time. In 1928, conservative elements of the
Congreso Obrero de Filipinas (COF) were alarmed by the increasing radicalization of Evangelista and his group, and took advantage of their absence by calling a national convention on May 1 of that year. The incumbent president, Francisco Varona was ousted along with Evangelista, and were replaced by Hilario Barroga and Domingo Ponce, respectively. Some authors claim the move was orchestrated by Evangelista's enemies in the COF: Ruperto Cristobal, Isabelo Tejada, and Antonio Paguia, however others Most members, including Evangelista, believed that the root of the revolution should come from the urban centers, The American administration in the Philippines acknowledged and recognized that the convicted communists such as Evangelista, Manahan, Capadocia, and Balgos were leaders in their trades and their cooperation would have been most beneficial. These men were given offers for executive clemency but were adamant in their refusal. Eventually Manahan would accept pardon from Governor
Frank Murphy in 1935, partly due to ideological differences between him and Evangelista, and partly due to the intervention of
Manuel Quezon. This, combined with Quezon assuming the presidency of the Commonwealth with his liberalism and genuine desire to garner the support of labor groups, allowed for an opening in rapprochement between him and Evangelista. The adoption of a
united front against fascism by the Comintern also played a part in their release. In 1936,
James S. Allen, a high-ranking official of the CPUSA came to the Philippines to persuade Evangelista's group of accepting even a conditional pardon, under the argument that a united front must be maintained against world
fascism. Allen then went to Quezon to successfully request the release of the communist leaders on December 31, 1936. He then returned in 1938 to secure an absolute pardon for the communist leaders, which was granted on December 24 of that same year. Given their full political rights, they were now able to act and implement the Comintern's call for a united-front movement against fascism. Allen then mediated between
Pedro Abad Santos' Partido Sosyalista ng Pilipinas (PSP) and
Crisanto Evangelista's PKP to form a merger, despite their ideological differences. Pedro previously founded the PSP in 1932 when the Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas (PKP) was outlawed by the Supreme Court. Two years later, together with his assistants Agapito del Rosario, Luis Taruc, Lino Dizon and others, he organized the Aguman ding Talapagobra ning Pilipinas (ATP) into the Aguman ding Maldang Talapagobra (AMT), similar to the general workers' unions in Spain, Mexico, and France, which advocated the expropriation of landed estates and friar lands, farmers' cooperative stores and the upliftment of peasants' living conditions. On November 7, 1938, during the anniversary of the
October Revolution, members of the PKP and the PSP held a convention at the Manila Grand Opera House where they officially declared their merger as the Communist Party of the Philippines (merger of the Communist and Socialist Parties), but was simply referred to as the Communist Party of the Philippines for short. The three top elected officers of the new PKP were Evangelista, Abad Santos, and Capadocia, who were President, Vice President, and General Secretary, respectively. In 1935, PKP was accepted into the Comintern. In 1937, the PKP was legalized again, under the
Commonwealth in response to the growing threat of fascism in
Germany and
militarist Japan. In 1938, the Socialist Party was merged into the PKP. The PKP participated in a
popular front for municipal elections in 1940, which did well on the island of
Luzon, where six communist mayors were elected.
Armed resistance, 1942–1954 During World War II, the PKP helped organize the fight against the Japanese invasion. Under PKP leadership, the
Hukbalahap (People's Army against Japan) was created in 1942 under the leadership of
Luis Taruc and
Vicente Lava. The Hukbalahap carried on a struggle against the Japanese occupation for the next three years. After the end of Japanese occupation, the PKP found itself in a considerably strengthened position in the working class and peasant movements. The
Congress of Labor Organizations was created in July 1945 under PKP management. In 1946 PKP participated in the presidential elections within the
Democratic Alliance. In 1948, the PKP began an armed struggle against the government. The party was banned that year. In early 1950, the PKP created the
People's Liberation Army (
Hukbong Mapagpalaya ng Bayan) which was made up of about 10,000 soldiers. On October 18, 1950, the entire secretariat of the Central Committee of the PKP was arrested, including General Secretary
José Lava, following the earlier capture of the Politburo in Manila (and would remain in prison for the next two decades). José had taken over the leadership when his brother
Vicente died, and another brother,
Jesus, took over after José's capture. The PKP-1930 survived the martial law era as pro-government supporters, after being pardoned by
President Ferdinand Marcos. They supported the government in its land reform program, attempt for land collectivization, and the "Democratic Revolution from the center" envisioned by Marcos. The Maoist party continues to
fight to this day. As of now, the PKP-1930 is a minor party and issues the publication
Sulong! Some party members were elected to public office in the 2013 and 2016 elections in the country.
Notes ==References==