Recently, I returned from one month in the Philippines where I meet with and took part in the activity of the progressive mass movement in Luzon, specifically Metro Manila, Southern Tagalog, Bulacan and the Cordilleras.

I was inspired to travel to the Philippines after reading about and talking to people involved in the movement itself.

There was a multiplicity of events that defined this awakening.

Seeing the attacks on Indigenous Peoples and the response of the mass movement in the Stop Lumad Killings campaign and the Lakbayan convergence at University of the Philippines Diliman in 2015.

Hearing about the injustices of the Kidapawan massacre and the response of the mass movement typified in the Bigas Hindi Bala (Rice Not Bullet) campaign.

Following the successful election campaign of Kabataan Partylist representative Sarah Elago to become a voice for progressive youth inside the Philippine congress.

These events encouraged me to learn more and to seek out understanding as a worthy endeavour.

Firstly, this education was provided through mainstream media sources. But then expanded into exploring the organisations behind the stories as well as opening a door to alternative media sources. Through the struggle to get my political organisation at that time to acknowledge the need for solidarity, I was also put in touch with activists who helped me to better understand their struggle from an individual viewpoint.

This all happened a year before I eventually decided to take the plunge and visit the Philippines for the first time. Without doubt it was one of the challenging but also enlightening things I have done.

The reasons for my trip were two fold.

Firstly, to learn more about the Philippines under President Rodrigo “Digong” Duterte and how the progressive movements were responding.

Secondly, I wanted to learn more about the organising methods of the progressive movements and how these were executed in practical terms.

The first reason was in response to the limited information available in Australia and other countries about what was happening in the Philippines outside of the mainstream media’s limited coverage of the populist strongman and his drug war. Even many “Western left” publications have limited their analyses to denunciations of Duterte followed by denunciations of the underground Communist Party of the Philippines.

The second reason is in response to the fact that understanding the Philippine progressive movement is stifled for many Western people because of the different ideological basis, historical rifts, organising style and vocabulary of associated “rhetoric”. Even my own introduction to the mass movement only came after much study and discussion with participants. Not everyone has the inclination or time for this. But as someone who sees solidarity as having important lessons for our own work in Australia there is a need to try and break down why exactly people should care about the Philippine mass movement.

And this is what brings me here. I have been to the Philippines now. Lived and integrated in the practice of the mass movement for a modest period of time. The next step is to expose my stories to a wider audience and working with others to help build solidarity. This is a modest first step towards that goal.