I have been reflecting on an important question in Philippine political life: What does it mean to pursue social transformation when the old ideological categories no longer adequately describe our reality? For me, the answer cannot be found simply by declaring the Philippine Left irrelevant, nor by defending everything historically associated with the revolutionary Left. Both positions are too simplistic. The deeper challenge is to distinguish between the validity of social grievances and the validity of the political strategies used to address them. The Philippines continues to experience poverty, land inequality, precarious employment, political dynasties, corruption, oligarchic concentration of wealth and power, environmental destruction, Indigenous Peoples’ struggles, and profound inequalities between urban and rural communities. These realities did not disappear simply because particular revolutionary organizations have weakened. A movement may fail in its strategy while the social conditions that produced it remain unresolved. This is why I believe we need to move beyond the question, “Is the Philippine Left still relevant?” The more important question is: “What kind of social transformation does the Philippines need today?”
