PDP-Laban won’t back RevGov as rallies set

Groups opposed to RevGov stage a noise barrage near Ateneo de Manila University in Quezon City —GRIG C.MONTEGRANDE

The revolutionary government (RevGov) idea floated by President Rodrigo Duterte as a countermove against plots to oust him is meeting tough resistance from a leftist group and losing support even from the political party that carried him in the presidential race last year.

Left-wing labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) said opposition to RevGov would be the main rallying cry of rallies during the commemoration of Bonifacio Day today.

“Bonifaco led a real revolution to gain democracy for the Filipino masses,” said Rene Magtubo, PM national chair, in a statement.

“Duterte’s RevGov is a coup d’état to install a dictatorship,” he said.

PM is joining another group, Kalipunan ng Kilusang Masa, in a march from España Boulevard to Mendiola Street. Other protest actions were planned by PM and other organizations in the cities of Cebu, Davao and Bacolod.

“We call on workers not to join any RevGov events,” said Magtubo.

He said that under a RevGov, “the first to be sacrificed are the freedom and rights of workers.”

Workers’ rights

“Workers need political and civil liberties to advance their fight against capitalist exploitation and state abuses,” explained Magtubo.

He said Bonifacio Day rallies today against RevGov would be just the start of a sustained campaign against Mr. Duterte’s idea that would continue until the commemoration of International Human Rights Day on Dec. 10.

Members of  Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), another left-wing labor group, were also geared-up for today’s Bonifacio Day protests against the Duterte administration.

PDP-Laban opposition

Lito Ustarez, KMU vice chairperson for political and external affairs, said KMU members would commemorate Bonifacio Day today by protesting Mr. Duterte’s crackdown on “legal organizations” and extralegal maneuvers to keep himself in power either through RevGov or Charter change.

In Nueva Ecija, a key leader of the ruling Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), said groups supporting RevGov should think twice about pushing for it.

“It seems they do not understand what a revolution means,” said lawyer Raul Lambino, PDP-Laban vice president for international affairs, during a PDP-Laban assembly in Palayan City.

“They seem to believe it’s as simple as eating at a noodle place or having a drink at a corner store,” Lambino said.

“We in the PDP-Laban will not place our country, nor our fellow Filipinos, at risk,” he said in his address before Nueva Ecija leaders, including village chiefs, who joined an oath-taking ceremony for new PDP-Laban members at Nueva Ecija Convention Center.

Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez refused to answer questions about RevGov.—WITH A REPORT FROM ARMAND GALANG