Gov’t wants Makabayan bloc out of House to weaken rivals

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana. DND PHOTO (File)

MANILA, Philippines — The Duterte administration wants the Makabayan bloc removed from the House of Representatives to “disable” its machinery from campaigning in favor of the opposition in the 2022 elections, progressive lawmakers said on Sunday.

Their comments came after Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the government was firm in seeking the disqualification of the Makabayan bloc.

Lorenzana said in a radio interview that the continued representation of the Makabayan bloc in Congress only strengthens the communist rebels.

“Their plan to file a disqualification/proscription/designation case is intended to harass Makabayan and use these cases as black propaganda with the aim of defeating Makabayan in the coming elections,” Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate said in a statement.

“They also want to disable Makabayan’s electoral machinery that will campaign against the administration’s presidential candidate in 2022, because they know we will campaign hard for the opposition,” Zarate added.

In a separate statement, ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro said removing [the bloc] from the House won’t defeat the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the New People’s Army (CPP-NPA).

Castro said members of the Makabayan bloc were “duly elected party lists voted by the people for our firm stance for higher salaries, genuine land reform, for the respect and protection of the rights and welfare of teachers, workers, students, and all Filipinos.”

“Secretary Lorenzana’s statements saying he was firm in having the Makabayan lawmakers disqualified or removed [from the House] shows the true agenda behind the Red-tagging spree unleashed by the Duterte administration,” she said.

Proper forum

“Removing us [from the House] won’t weaken or defeat the CPP-NPA if that is what they want to happen,” she added.

Castro said “attacking us through disqualification is proof of how this administration belittles legitimate calls from our sector representatives” like wage increase for teachers and government employees.

Zarate earlier told the Inquirer that the group would challenge any disqualification case filed against it in the proper forum.

Aside from Lorenzana, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr., who is also the vice-chair of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac), earlier said the government would move to disqualify the lawmakers because they “do not believe in condemning the NPA for its violent actions.”

President Duterte had earlier accused the Makabayan of being a front of the CPP-NPA and being in a “grand conspiracy” with the communist rebels to oust his administration.

Zarate said, “despite their vicious and malicious claims, what is clear though, as the Senate hearings have proven, the NTF-Elcac has no evidence sufficient to file criminal cases, so they will resort to disqualification, proscription, and designation because these administrative proceedings require lower quantum of evidence.” INQ