Colmenares: PH’s problems today same as what Bonifacio fought against

Bayan Muna Chair Neri Colmenares. INQUIRER.net file photo / Christia Marie Ramos

Bayan Muna Chairperson and senatorial candidate Neri Colmenares said that the problems of the modern-day Philippines are not that different from what the Katipunan’s Supremo, Andres Bonifacio, stood up against.

In a protest action in Mendiola on Friday, Colmenares said that Bonifacio’s revolution in the late 1890s may be against the Spaniards who has colonized the country, he is the inspiration of other struggles against colonizers and bullies.

“Ang kilusan ni Andres Bonifacio laban sa mananakop na dayuhan ay hindi lamang laban sa Espanyol, laban din ito sa mga imperyalistang Amerikano, at laban sa bagong naka-amba na nanghihimasok sa ating bansa, ang Tsina,” he told protesters gathered at Mendiola.

The KKK, or the Kataas-taasan, Kagalang-galang na Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan, was a plan by former members of the La Liga Filipina who grew dissatisfied with Dr. Jose Rizal’s plan to ask Spain to make the Philippines its province.

Seeking complete independence, Bonifacio and others started a revolutionary movement aimed at toppling the Spanish government.

Deodato Arellano was its first Supremo, but membership grew under Bonifacio’s leadership.  The KKK’s first attacks against the Spanish forces were also conducted by units under Bonifacio, who is widely regarded as the de facto first president of the country.

Bonifacio’s KKK, which is the precursor of Emilio Aguinaldo’s revolutionary government, was on the brink of winning against the Spaniards.  However, the United States acquired the Philippines from Spain for a price of $20 million.

According to Colmenares, even if the country is not under the rule of another nation, the threat of foreign interference is imminent, with China claiming a huge chunk of the South China Sea.  This includes land masses and bodies of water well within the country’s exclusive economic zone.

But other than issues of sovereignty and territorial freedom, he said that the overwhelming problem is still issues concerning poverty — job security, contractualization, abuse in work areas, and others.

“Hindi pa tayo ganap na malaya.  Malaya na ba tayo sa kahirapan?  Malaya na ba tayo sa kontraktwalisasyon?” he asked.

“Isulong natin ang laban ni Andres Bonifacio hanggang sa ganap na kalayaan, hindi lang kalayaan laban sa dayuhan, kung hindi kalayaan laban sa kahirapan,” /jpv