Partido Obrero de Filipinas


The Partido Obrero de Filipinas was a Marxist political party formed in 1924 by Filipino labor organizers Crisanto Evangelista, Domingo Ponce and Cirilo Bognot during the administration of the Insular Government of the Philippine Islands. This party later formed the core of the Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas which was established in 1930.

History

Crisanto Evangelista had been an active labor organizer since 1906 and was an organizer of the Congreso Obrero de Filipinas in 1913. Evangelista was also affiliated with the Nacionalista Party but in 1924 he, Ponce and Bognot failed to acquire berths in the Nacionalista Party's lineup as Manila councilors. They established Partido Obrero de Filipinas in response, seeing the group as a counterpoint to the colonial political parties. Though organizationally weak, Partido Obrero was aggressive, labeling other politicians as "traitors to independence" from the Americans.
According to author Melinda Tria Kerkvliet, in 1925 Evangelista may have been influenced by the Indonesian communist Tan Malaka to organize Partido Obrero de Filipinas as "a political party advocating a different ideology". In 1930, Evangelista founded the Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas.