“Seizing the Momentum”: The Communist Resistance in Cebu during the AntiMarcos Struggle, 1972–1986

Abstract

This article uses archival material and oral narratives to retrieve the history of the communist resistance to the Marcos regime in Cebu from 1972 to 1986, focusing on one of the Philippines’ major urban centers outside the National Capital Region during the antidictatorship struggle. From being relegated by the Communist Party of the Philippines to the role of building clandestine support networks for rural guerrilla warfare in neighboring islands, Metro Cebu became a key site of politico-military contestation as insurgents responded to the ascending trajectory of contentious politics across the country in the 1980s.

KEYWORDS: COMMUNIST PARTY OF THE PHILIPPINES • MARTIAL LAW • MARCOS DICTATORSHIP • ARMED STRUGGLE • CEBU