Continuing our series of articles drawn from the 6th International Anarchist Studies Network Conference, Simoun Magsalin discusses contemporary and historical examples of anarchism in the Philippine archipelago. Part analysis, part call to action, he identifies existing liberatory practices in order to contextualise anarchism alongside indigenous Filipino traditions of resistance to colonialism and co-operation.
‘Libertarian elements – mutual aid/bayanihan, direct action and egalitarian organizing – are then not foreign ideas. They already exist today in our lives and in our contexts. The task of the anarchists in the archipelago is to identify these elements and contextualize these for an anarchist praxis’.