Coni Ledesma: "The Filipino revolutionary movement is working to build a new government"

The Filipino people have endured over fifty years of armed and political conflict. A repressive context that has violated citizens’ human rights, deprived them of a dignified life, and hindered their access to essential resources for survival. Multinational corporations continue to exploit natural resource areas, contributing to pollution and environmental destruction, while the government prioritizes economic gains over the well-being of the people. Despite these conditions, the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) has resumed dialogue with the current president, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., striving to pave the way for peace negotiations.

Coni Ledesma is a Filipino activist, a member of the NDFP, and a current peace negotiator. She has been involved in activism for over fifty years. With the support of the Catalan Association for Peace (ACP) and International Action for Peace (IAP), she visited Barcelona to provide a firsthand account of the situation in the Philippines. Her visit took place during the international conference, 'Negotiating Peace: Historic Agreements and International Support for the Process in the Philippines'.

We spoke with her to learn about her experience in activism and to gain insight into the current reality of a country that endured three centuries of colonization and continues to face its lingering effects today.