José María Sison
| José María Sison | |
|---|---|
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Chairman of the Communist Party of the Philippines founder |
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Assumed office December 26, 1968 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
José María Canlás Sison February 8, 1939 Cabugao, Ilocos Sur, Philippine Commonwealth |
| Political party | Communist Party of the Philippines |
| Other political affiliations |
National Democratic Front Bagong Alyansang Makabayan Makabayang Kowalisyon ng Mamamayan |
| Spouse(s) | Julie de Lima (1960-present) |
| Children | 4 |
| Residence | Utrecht, Netherlands |
| Alma mater | University of the Philippines Colegio de San Juan de Letran Ateneo de Manila University |
| Website | www.josemariasison.org |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | New People's Army |
José María Canlás Sison (born 8 February 1939) is a writer and activist who founded the Communist Party of the Philippines and added elements of Maoism to its philosophy.
Since August 2002, he has been classified as a "person supporting terrorism" by the United States. The European Union's second highest court ruled to delist him as a "person supporting terrorism" and reversed a decision by member governments to freeze assets.
Sison was born on 8 February 1939 in the town of Cabugao, Ilocos Sur in the Philippines, to a prominent landowning family with ancestry from Fujian and with connections to other prominent clans such as the Crisologos, the Sollers, the Serranos, and the Singsons. His uncle was Teófilo Sison, a prominent politician who was convicted in 1946 of having collaborated with the Japanese occupation forces. During his childhood in Ilocos, he talked to his barber about the Hukbalahap activity, and unlike his relatives, attended a public school before entering Ateneo de Manila University and later studying at Colegio de San Juan de Letran.
Sison graduated from the University of the Philippines in 1959 and then studied in Indonesia before returning to the Philippines and becoming a university professor of literature. He joined the Lavaite Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas and was one of the founding members of both the Socialist Party and Movement for the Advancement of Nationalism. In 1964, he co-founded the Kabataang Makabayan, or Patriotic Youth, with Nilo S. Tayag. This organization organized youth against the Vietnam War, Ferdinand Marcos, corrupt politicians, Imperialism, Bureaucrat Capitalism and Feudalism. The organization also spearheaded the studying of Maoism as part of 'the struggle'.
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