Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate. INQUIRER.net file photo / Noy Morcoso
MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte’s recent “red-tagging” of minority party-lists is a “desperate election squid tactic” aimed at preventing the opposition’s growth in the forthcoming elections, said House Deputy Minority Leader and Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate.
According to Zarate in a statement, Duterte’s linking the Makabayan bloc to the communist movement is “a desperate election squid tactic to create a wedge in the growing numbers of the political opposition that support the Leni-Kiko tandem, as well as to prevent the eventual reelection of progressive party lists to Congress.”
“This recent attack of the redtagger-in-chief may be a prelude to more intensified harassment against the progressive bloc and the broad political opposition, including Vice President Leni Robredo herself, to stop the momentum of her snowballing campaign that endangers Marcos Jr.’s supposed lead in the surveys,” said Zarate.
Zarate explained that with this, Duterte is once again “foisting the communist and terrorist tag” to justify attacks on his critics.
“We have already seen the dangers of this kind of attack as it erases any distinction between what is legal and illegal, the unarmed activists and armed rebels — all in utter disregard for due process and fundamental freedoms,” said Zarate.
“This is highly condemnable, as Pres. Duterte now paves the way for more acts of state repression and another wave of violence on our ranks, as he did before in his bloody campaign against drugs,” he added.
These accusations, which Zarate called a “ploy,” are also designed to divert the attention of the Filipinos from the Duterte administration’s failings in the last six years.
He cited past red-tagging accusations and conspiracies against the Makabayan Bloc, several artists, religious groups, civil society groups, critics of this administration, the political opposition, and even ordinary citizens have been discredited and proven to be baseless, like in the hearings conducted by the Senate on the issue.
“The real intent of this attack is to immobilize us. They know that the Makabayan bloc’s whole machinery is now being mobilized not only to expose the corruption issues and other anomalies of the Duterte administration from the generals’ pork, to subservience to China, to illegal POGOs, high oil, electricity, and water rates, among others, but more importantly to work hard and campaign for the candidacy of the Leni-Kiko tandem and to defeat the candidates of dictatorship and tyranny being peddled by Pres. Duterte,” Zarate said.
During his taped Talk to People briefing, Duterte once again linked certain party lists in the Congress, who all also happen to be critics of his administration, to the communist movement.
He referred to party-list groups Kabataan, Anakpawis, Bayan Muna, Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT), and Gabriela.
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