REVOLUTIONARY ORGANIZATIONS under the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) staged a “lightning rally” as world leaders are due to arrive in the country for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit starting Monday.

Hundreds of revolutionaries marched on Manila’s crowded downtown area to condemn APEC as an imposition on poor countries like the Philippines.

“(We) vigorously condemn the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) as an imperialist instrument of plunder and greed,” the NDFP National Council said in a statement.

“The Filipino people have long suffered under the economic policies and multilateral agreements aggressively pushed by the APEC which have only ensured the interests of the advanced capitalist economies, especially that of the United States,” the underground alliance said.

Police officers in the area were caught flat-footed by the swift mobilization, which proceeded to march from the Carriedo area and dispersed at the corner of Recto Avenue and Quezon Boulevard.

The Benigno Aquino government has been implementing street-clearing operations and raising security alerts as it welcomes heads of states from dozens of countries, including United States president Barack Obama.

The revolutionaries distributed leaflets and painted slogans on walls as many of bystanders—mostly ambulant vendors—cheered from the sidelines.

The NDFP and its allied organizations are waging a “national democratic revolution” for nearly five decades, said to be the longest running revolution in Asia. #