Legarda: I worked with the left; nothing wrong with that

Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda (File photo from the Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau)

MANILA, Philippines — The reds have found an unlikely ally in a green crusader.

Arguing that there’s nothing illegal in espousing leftist ideology, Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda expressed concern over a colleague’s proposal to require government officials to disclose family relations with anyone linked to the communist rebellion, an act practically akin to “red-tagging” themselves.

In an impassioned speech on the Senate floor, Legarda said on Tuesday she dared not pass judgment on Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) Chair Prospero de Vera III after his sister, Adora Faye de Vera, was arrested last week for her alleged role in killings carried out by the New People’s Army (NPA), the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).

The 66-year-old Adora, who survived rape and torture during the dictatorship of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s late father, was taken into custody after she was captured in Quezon City on Aug. 24, facing multiple murder charges, according to the police.

“Believing in policies and philosophies that may be left of center, so to speak, does not make anyone subversive,” said Legarda, who is known for her environmental advocacy.

“I stand here as someone who has worked with the so-called left … and there’s nothing wrong with that,” she said.

No subversion law

“It does not make anyone subversive,” she stressed. “In fact, there’s no subversion law.”

Legarda was reacting to Sen. Francis Tolentino’s privilege speech on Tuesday suggesting that the government compel public officials, particularly those occupying senior posts, to divulge any ties with persons belonging to government-tagged terror groups, such as the Abu Sayyaf and the CPP-NPA.

Tolentino, a lawyer, cited the case of CHEd’s De Vera, who had quickly distanced himself from his elder sister by saying he had not seen her in 25 years.

He said he was not “ascribing any fault” to the CHEd chair, but he was concerned that there might be individuals “connected to incumbent officers who might have access to confidential information that might endanger national security.”

“Is it now the right time that we also require [government officials] to declare [if] they have a relative who is a member of a terrorist organization [or] an affiliate of an organization that seeks to overthrow the [government]?” Tolentino said.

“I pose this question not because I am against De Vera. I pose this question because we have to have a semblance of a strong government.”

But Legarda said this might be a difficult proposition since some advocacy groups and nongovernmental organizations critical of the government had been unnecessarily red-tagged, or regarded as “enemies of the state,” because of supposed ties with the communists.

“If we see and study what they actually believe and want, it is social justice. It is really uplifting our people from poverty for decades without bearing arms,” she said.

Legarda recalled her previous engagements with the CPP’s political wing, the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), in freeing soldiers and policemen who were captured by NPA rebels as prisoners of war.

Then a neophyte senator, Legarda headed a humanitarian mission in 2001 to seek the release of then Army Maj. Noel Buan, an intelligence officer held captive by the insurgents for nearly two years.

“I have worked with the NDF and I’m not ashamed of it,” she said, adding that she “agreed with them on many subject matters that are close to our hearts.”

Besides, Legarda pointed out that the CPP, NPA, and NDFP had not been legally declared as terror groups by the Court of Appeals as required by law. The communist organizations, however, have been designated as terrorists by the Anti-Terrorism Council, a nine-member body composed of Cabinet members.

Legarda vowed to push for a review of Republic Act No. 11479, or the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, and urged the government to revive peace talks with the communist rebels.

Not his sister’s keeper

Agreeing with Legarda, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III cited the case of retired Brig. Gen. Jose Ma. Zumel, whose brother, the late journalist and martial law victim Antonio Zumel Jr., became the NDFP’s first chair.

“That shows that we have free will. That general was not his brother’s keeper. (Antonio’s) decision should not and did not affect his military career,” Pimentel said.

“[In the same way] De Vera is not his sister’s keeper. Why do we put pressure on him to explain the actions and past decisions of his sister?” he said.

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