Editorial | Who’s afraid of a harmless fun run?

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) recently denounced the Unity Run for Peace and Development as a “desperate public relations gimmick” and a “cover-up for corruption.” But what kind of self-proclaimed revolutionary attacks a harmless fun run? Only a violent organization with a political agenda. One that still claims to wield influence despite lacking public support.

What exactly had the CPP so up in arms? One simple unity run, which is also a fundraiser organized for the benefit of Buklod Kapayapaan, the national federation of former rebels, to support their reintegration into society. It's a run for a cause, not a coup. It is a modest yet meaningful step towards healing, reconciliation, and peacebuilding. That the CPP finds this threatening says more about them than it does about former rebels or the organizers of the event.

Buklod Kapayapaan has already responded with quiet dignity, stating, “It only proves the correctness of our analysis of the CPP's anti-peace stance that undermines every attempt at peacebuilding.” They are right. The venom the CPP pours onto every grassroots peace initiative reveals just how out of touch the organization has become. To cling to an ideology that demands violence while ridiculing a unity run? That’s not a pitch for resistance. It’s a sign of irrelevance.

The CPP’s statement reeks of desperation. They allege the run is a ploy to "line pockets"; worse, it labels former rebels behind Buklod Kapayapaan as “traitors.” But these former combatants are pioneers of peacebuilding in our modern era. They chose a path that the CPP cannot, or will not, comprehend: one rooted in dialogue, not dogma; in service, not in slogans.

If the CPP had even a shred of awareness left, it would see what’s actually happening on the ground. Thousands of former rebels and supporters are organizing, not to take up arms, but to build farms, sustainable enterprises, and community projects. To dismiss these efforts as “rackets” is not just tone-deaf, it’s cruel. It erases the lived struggles of those rebuilding their lives.

And while on the topic of corruption, the real racket is exploiting the deaths of NPA youth fighters for donations online, even as their own families reject the narrative. It’s calling for “justice for the Lumad” or "reopening of Lumad schools,"  while being unable to even enter Lumad communities who have turned their backs on them.

This is the Achilles’ heel of the CPP’s analysis: it summarily rejects all forms of peace except its own version of violent upheaval. In doing so, it exposes itself, on one hand, as a dinosaur, an organization stuck in the past, unwilling to evolve. On the other hand, it inadvertently exposes its ties to its favored sires—the so-called national democratic organizations—so adept at crying foul over "red-tagging," yet conspicuously silent on these groups' corruption, sexual abuse, and exploitation of the youth.

So, to the peace-loving, armed conflict-rejecting public: lace up. Run not just for peace, but for truth, for healing, and for our country's future. Support the Unity Run for Peace and Development.

Visit their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/unityrun4peace