By Gabriel Kuhn
Originally posted on DIY Conspiracy
February 14th, 2025
This anarchist collective and infoshop in the Philippines is fighting for community, deconolization and land regeneration.
Last year, we launched the project DIY Solidarity that allows us to redistribute funds among DIY communities to beat at least some of the injustices that come with a global economic order completely out of balance.
One of the groups we were able to support was Etniko Bandido in the Philippines. They’ve been around for a long time and are currently pursuing an ambitious “community resource and land regeneration project.”
Gabriel Kuhn spoke to Cris from Etniko Bandido to find out where the project is at and to learn more about Etniko Bandido and other DIY initiatives in the country.
This year’s DIY Solidarity application window will be open from March 1 to 31!
Last year, during the first round of DIY Solidarity, you received funding for a “community resource and land regeneration project”. Can you give us an update?
It’s a long-term project. We are trying to buy land and, by now, we have collected 300,000 Philippine pesos (approximately $5,140), about 25 percent of what we need. Currently, we have a fundraiser together with the Lucy Parsons Center in Boston.
What is the goal of the project?
We want to buy the land for several reasons. First of all, it is a means of defense. There is a lot of development happening in the Philippines, large areas are urbanized or used by different industries, for example the mining industry. This destroys traditional ways of agriculture and living with the land. So, we want to protect the land, the biodiversity, and the communities living there.
Once we have the land, we can actively use it for decolonization and land regeneration. We can hold workshops about permaculture and appropriate technology design, and we can introduce a variety of plants in the area that can be promoted as natural crafts and alternative food sources. People have been able to survive there for thousands of years, we must learn how they did it. It’s about finding a balance between livelihood, economic sustainability, and protecting the land.
What is Etniko Bandido?
It’s a decolonized, anti-authoritarian, and autonomous space that promotes anarchist and indigenous values. We are community-based, we have a library and a community research center, we run a community pantry, and we organize art exhibitions, small concerts, film screenings, and more. But we’re also an activist hub and involved in various projects and campaigns, right now especially against the mining industry.
How DIY is Etniko Bandido?
Oh, this is what we started from! For me personally, DIY came before anarchism. We do things our own way, we don’t look at mainstream culture and consumer society. We have very strict boundaries when it comes to the state. During the pandemic, we accepted donations to our community pantry, but they came without conditions. Independence is very important to us.
What is the Local Autonomous Network (LAN)?
I like to compare it to the Invisible Committee in France. It’s a loose network of groups across the Philippines. Sometimes, these groups act in the name of LAN, sometimes they don’t, it depends on the context. We’ve been in contact with each other for about twenty years. There is no central authority.
There is a current fundraiser to support the making of a documentary film about the network.
Yes, it’s someone from a space called the Pirate Studio, and they are collaborating with Radical Guide. The filmmaker is a LAN sympathizer, quite young, and he hasn’t been involved in these kinds of activities for very long. We help him with contacts and finishing the film.
How strong are the connections between LAN and the punk movement?
Quite a few of us have a strong background in the punk movement and there is an overlap. But LAN should not be conflated with the punk movement. Punk has its own culture, also with a strong Western influence. It’s not for everyone. We want to be open to all kinds of people.
How is the current political situation in the Philippines? Are you subjected to a lot of repression?
Politics in the Philippines are a mess right now. The former president, Rodrigo Duterte, has all sorts of legal problems, and the current president, Bongbong Marcos, comes from the Marcos family that ruled the country for a long time. The vice president, Sara Duterte, is Rodrigo Duterte’s daughter. So, there have been arrangements between the two families, but now there is a lot of infighting. The military and the police are cautious, they are waiting to see what’s going to happen. We are always dealing with repression, but right now it’s not as harsh as it was under Duterte. In any case, we focus on our activities, we have little influence on government politics.
Support Etniko Bandido’s work by joining their Patreon and help fund their community resource and land regeneration project through their shared fundraiser with the Lucy Parsons Center.
Keep an eye out for the upcoming LAN documentary and learn more about anarchism in the archipelago by reading Pangayaw and Decolonizing Resistance: Anarchism in the Philippines.
Gabriel Kuhn is an author, translator, and union activist. He has published widely in English and German. His texts have been translated into more than a dozen languages.
