ABSTRACT

New People's Army units struggled to build bases in the countryside, the protest movement galvanizing students and workers in Manila grew increasingly militant. The beleaguered guerrilla zones in the countryside could absorb only a few of those forced underground by martial law, and so the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) was faced with the daunting logistical task of hiding thousands of Party members and activists in Manila. In early 1973, the Central Committee established the National Liaison Commission to oversee the orderly transfer of CPP members to the countryside. While the open urban protest movement was showing signs of recovering from the devastation of martial law, the underground CPP leadership was experiencing difficulties. Communists and moderates agreed upon a blueprint to rally the fearful enemies of martial law that called for a civil liberties campaign aimed at restoration of the suspended constitution.