15 party-list groups vent their ire on Bayan Muna

Bayan Muna Representatives Neri Colmenares and Teodoro Casiño. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Is it now Bayan Muna against the world?

The militant party-list group has found itself on the defensive following a rather unusual protest staged by at least 15 other organizations with representatives now sitting in the House of Representatives.

An Waray and company simultaneously “closed” their offices at the Batasang Pambansa Tuesday to protest Bayan Muna’s campaign to disqualify fellow party-list organizations for allegedly not representing marginalized sectors.

Posted on the door of Yacap Rep. Carol Jayne Lopez’s office was a note saying: “For solicitations, please proceed to the office of Bayan Muna party-list.”

The one posted on the door of An Waray Rep. Florencio “Bem” Noel was much longer, saying the group was “temporarily” stopping its medical, scholarship and other programs for the poor “because of allegations by the Bayan Muna group that our party-list (group) is not really providing service.”

An Waray instructed those seeking assistance to proceed to the offices of Bayan Muna Representatives Teodoro Casiño and Neri Colmenares so the group would be given “the opportunity to prove that it is the only one that helps.”

In an interview with the Inquirer, Noel said the move was meant to send a message to Bayan Muna: “You don’t have the monopoly of helping others. Without us, what would you do?”

Told about the protest, Casiño said the criticism that An Waray was getting was “par for the course,” especially with the coming midterm elections.

“My appeal to them is to take it in stride. This is part of the election season. Each party-list group will try to get votes for itself, but services and constituents should not suffer. We at Bayan Muna would try our best to accommodate (those who will not get help from other party-list groups),” he said in a phone interview.

Noel said the move to suspend assistance came after a meeting among party-list groups on Monday. Among those represented in the meeting were Ako Bicol, Abono, Coop Natco, Agham, Cibac, Alagad, Butil, Anad and Bagong Henerasyon, he said.

Noel suspected that Bayan Muna wanted his group disqualified so it could recover votes from Region 8, an An Waray bailiwick. He said Bayan Muna used to dominate votes in the region until An Waray came into the picture.

Noting that a voter could pick only one group on election day, Casiño said party-list organizations “naturally” compete with one another.

“Understandably, if [another] party-list group wants to get votes, say, from Region 8 which is dominated by An Waray, it would affect the votes of an An Waray,” he said.

But Noel said party-list groups could “coexist.”

“Why don’t they just live and let live? Why do we have to go against one another? They have their own people to help, we also have ours,” he said.