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People's Republic of the Philippines
Republikang Pampopular ng Pilipinas
OTL equivalent: Philippines
Flag Coat of Arms
Flag Coat of Arms
Anthem "The Socialist Way"
Capital Selurong (New Manila)
Largest city Sison (Former Quezon City)
Other cities Sa Li-Han (Baguio), Sugbo (Cebu), Dabaw, Iloilo, Sulayman (Zamboanga)
Language
  official
 
Pilipino
  others Ilocano, Sugbuanon, Pampango, Ilonggo, Waray, Korean, Mandarin
Religion State Atheism
Demonym Philippinian, Pilipino, Maharlikan
Government Marxist-Leninist Single Party State
  Legislature People's Supreme Assembly
Chairman
Population 87,560,000 
Currency pilak
Internet TLD .ph

The Philippines (i/ˈfɪlɨpiːnz/; Filipino: Pilipinas [ˌpɪlɪˈpinɐs]), officially known as the People's Republic of the Philippines (Pilipino: Republikang Pampopular ng Pilipinas), is a sovereign island country in Southeast Asia situated in the western Pacific Ocean. It consists of 7107 islands that are categorized broadly under three main geographical divisions: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Its capital city is Manila while its most populous city is Quezon City; both are part of Metro Manila. The current Communist government was founded in 1987, shortly after the ouster of transitional president Corazon Aquino, under the leadership of the Communist Party of the Philippines (Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas).

To the north of the Philippines across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan; Vietnam sits west across the South China Sea; southwest is the island of Borneo across the Sulu Sea, and to the south the Celebes Sea separates it from other islands of Indonesia; while to the east it is bounded by the Philippine Sea and the island-nation of Palau. Its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire and close to the equator makes the Philippines prone to earthquakes and typhoons, but also endows it with abundant natural resources and some of the world's greatest biodiversity. At approximately 300,000 sq km (115,831 sq mi), the Philippines is the 64th-largest country in the world.

The arrival of Ferdinand Magellan in Homonhon, Eastern Samar in 1521 marked the beginning of Spanish colonization. In 1543, Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos named the archipelago Las Islas Filipinas in honor of Philip II of Spain. With the arrival of Miguel López de Legazpi from Mexico City, in 1565, the first Spanish settlement in the archipelago was established.[14] The Philippines became part of the Spanish Empire for more than 300 years. This resulted in the predominant religion in the country being Roman Catholicism. During this time, Manila became the western hub of the trans-Pacific Manila–Acapulco galleon trade connecting Asia with the Americas.

As the 19th century gave way to the 20th, there followed in quick succession the Philippine Revolution, which spawned the short-lived First Philippine Republic, and the Philippine–American War. Aside from the period of Japanese occupation, the United States retained sovereignty over the islands until 1945. After World War II, the Philippines was recognized as an independent nation. Then in 1986, a Communist revolution took place and the Communist Party of the Philippines which overthrew the Philippine Government.

History

Even before 1987, Maoist insurgents already numbered in the tens of thousands around the Philippines. When President Ferdinand Marcos was toppled during a popular uprising on February 25, 1986, a transitional government was hastily created under president Corazon Aquino, who was democratically elected to the position by a forced plebiscite election a month earlier. Her first act as president was to "free all political prisoners," including Jose Maria Sison. Emboldened by this move, Communist insurgents immediately laid siege to three key commercial centers in the north of the country, namely Laoag (in Ilocos Norte province), Dagupan (Pangasinan) and Cabanatuan (Nueva Ecija).

The Siege of Baguio

Aquino's negotiations with the Communists failed to produce even just a simple accord, and on May 4, 1986, a thousand Communist troops took the city of Baguio by force, driving out the American troops stationed at John Hay Air Force Base, which was located within the city. Though no American citizens or troops were hurt, the United States government decided to nevertheless evacuate all of its citizens from the country; within a week all military bases in the country were devoid of Americans.

On a nationwide broadcast from Baguio's "Mansion House" presidential summer palace, the Communists declared Jose Maria Sison as Chairman.

The Fall of Manila

As the months wore on, the Philippine military, already fractured by divided loyalties, watched helplessly as insurgents poured in from the wilderness and laid siege to town after town all over Luzon island. Finally, on the night of September 30, 1987, responding to news that Communist guerrillas were entering the capital city Manila, President Aquino and her immediate family were quickly whisked away from the presidential palace to the airport, boarding a US C-130 plane that would eventually bring them to the USS Midway, which was docked in Guam.

The Maoists met virtually no resistance as they entered the capital the next morning. On noon of October 1, 1987, Chairman Sison appeared on the grand balcony of the presidential palace and inaugurated the People's Republic of the Philippines.

The Philippine Cultural Revolution

Following Maoist ideology, Sison implemented the Philippine Cultural Revolution in March 1989, the purpose of which was to remove supposedly "imperialist" influences. Catholic churches, prayer halls, temples and mosques were forcibly closed, while titles to vast tracts of land were declared void and redistributed to farmers in the name of "true agrarian reform." It withdrew its membership from various international organizations, including the United Nations and the International Olympic Committee, citing the "influence of imperialist doctrine" within these organizations. The highrises of Makati, once the busy financial district of Manila, were converted to residential buildings for the purpose of housing "urban communes." Once considered a bulwark of free speech and responsible journalism, the Philippine Daily Inquirer became the mouthpiece of the Revolution, and was renamed as Ang Bayan. Millions of people were forced from the cities into the countryside, turning jungle into farming and industrial communities. Military service became mandatory for all people fifteen years of age and above.

The National Language was also reformed, and all ethnic languages have been granted co-official status. The National language of the Philippines was again renamed as Pilipino, which was reformed by the Communist Party to reduce its Tagalog quality by adding thousand words derived from other Philippine languages. The CPP promotes the usage of all Philippine languages, and speaking any foreign languages were forbidden, aside from Korean and Mandarin, which were also encourage by the CPP to create a just and warmer diplomatic relationship with DPRK and PRC.

"Imperialism" to the Philippine Politburo meant not just American influences but Chinese ones as well; with the reforms brought about by Deng Xiaoping, Chairman Sison denounced China's trend towards capitalization and abandonment of Maoist ideology. Sison was also bitter towards Mikhail Gorbachev's perestroika and the impending revolutions of Eastern Europe. With the Philippines becoming increasingly isolated from even its Communist neighbors, Sison had no choice but to ally with North Korea. This led the Philippine Politburo to implement the philosophy of "Sariling Sikap" (Self-Reliance), which was similar to Kim il-Sung's juche ideals.

The Philippine Cultural Revolution also saw a massive internal purge within the Communist Party's own ranks. In 1990, Chairman Sison ordered the "silencing" of who he considered "Trotskyists" and "counter-revolutionaries." Though the exact number is unknown, up to three thousand people targeted for opposing any and all aspects of the Cultural Revolution have been imprisoned or killed so far.

An earthquake measuring 7.7 on the Ritcher scale struck Luzon island on July 16, 1990, and was recorded by scientists all over the Asia-Pacific region, but the Philippine Politburo was silent about the whole matter; it is believed that tens of thousands of people perished during the disaster. When Mount Pinatubo erupted a year later, the Philippine Politburo refused aide from the United Nations and the International Red Cross, requesting aide from North Korea instead. It is now estimated that around 150,000 people died during the eruption, although this number could not be verified by independent sources.

Government

The People's Republic of the Philippines is one of the world's few remaining socialist states. The current Philippine government describes itself as a Communist and socialist. The single governing body is known as the Communist Party of the Philippines (Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas) or CPP, presided over by Chairman Jose Maria Sison. The CPP constitution defines itself as a movement which "leads the broad masses of the Filipino people of various nationalities and ethno-linguistic communities to total victory in the national democratic revolution against imperialism, and brings about the fulfillment of social revolution."

The NCPP is further composed of various militant sub-organizations, each working for a distinct group and/or political function:

  • Bayan Muna ("Country First"), the largest group, focuses on internal politics, diplomatic relations with other nations, propaganda and general revolutionary fervor;
  • Anakpawis ("Child of Sweat") focuses on agriculture and industry, as well as infrastructure development;
  • Gabriela focuses on women and health issues;
  • Kabataan focuses on children, Communist Party recruitment and education;
  • Suara Bangsamoro ("Voice of the Moro") focuses on relations with Muslims and Muslim insurgents in the southern island of Mindanao. It also is intended to deal with the Philippine territorial claim to northern Borneo, which is under Malaysian jurisdiction;
  • Migrante focuses on relations with Filipinos who have migrated or sought asylum abroad.

Each of the sub-organizations listed above are represented within so-called "Regional Commands" that oversee operations in various communal groups around the country.

Military

The People's Liberation Army (Hukbong Mapagpalaya ng Mamamayan), which is the unified military arm of the CPP, helps consolidate the Party's control over the country. It spends about 7% of its GDP for its standing military, which is a threat to the stability of the ASEAN region. Once part of the pre-Revolution CPP-NDF-NPA tripartite group, the PLA was eventually sub-categorized under the NCPP. Foreign intelligence also confirms the existence of an unnamed secret police organization, a part of the PLA, that carries out assassinations against so-called "counter-revolutionaries."

The Philippines is believed to have been possessed nuclear weapons. A foreign intelligence had confirmed that the Philippines is building its nuclear program with the aid of its ally, North Korea.

The United States and her allies imposed a trade embargo against the Philippines. The PLA had no choice but to manufacture its own armaments and military equipment, with the help of its Communist ally North Korea. The People's Liberation Army Air Force (Hukbong Panghimpapahuid Mapagpalaya ng Mamamayan) recently developed its own fighter jet, the F-7 fighter which is almost similar with the chinese J-10 fighter. The People's Liberation Army Navy (Hukbong Pandagat Mapagpalaya ng Mamamayan) is a known operator of nuclear submarines, and has plan to buy more frigates from China. The People's Liberation Army Rocketry Forces (Hukbong Raketa Mapagpalaya ng Mamamayan) possesses nuclear missiles in its inventory, most have came from North Korea and several others are locally developed.

The Philippines Today

The People's Republic of the Philippines, with its increasingly isolationist tendencies, is still technically in a state of "Cultural Revolution." Taxes were abolished in 1989. All healthcare are subsidized for the sake of free healthcare for all Filipinos. Education became mandatory and free of charge. Xenophobia has been uprising due to nationwide CPP propaganda, and most of the population has developed hate towards Americans and her allies, which they view as imperialists. All forms of religion are banned and it is virtually impossible to gather news from rural areas. Foreigners are banned from entering the country unless they are from the Philippines only international alles and friends, North Korea and the People's republic of England. Currently, the Philippines has no official relations with any nation apart from North Korea, though it is in the process of establishing relations with the DPRC. Like in North Korea and the People's republic of England. Anyone caught trying to leave the Philippines is arrested as an 'enemy of the state' and sent to a gulag in the north of the country.

See Also:

The_Empire_Of_Atlantis

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