Makabayan bloc receiver of NPA’s ‘revolutionary tax’? Alvarez thinks so

In defending the fund cutback for opposition lawmakers, House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez hinted on Thursday that congressmen belonging to the so-called Makabayan bloc could be benefiting from the “revolutionary taxes” that the New People’s Army (NPA) allegedly extort from the people.

Alvarez said in a statement on Thursday that the Makabayan bloc, which he claimed to be composed of party-list groups identified with the mainstream Left, has not accessed funds from Congress ever since “at all”.

“We do not know where they get funds for projects for their constituents. All we know is that the communist rebels with whom they have an ideological and political affinity impose what’s known as ‘revolutionary taxation’ in areas where they operate,” Alvarez said.

Citing information from the military, Alvarez said that in southern Mindanao alone, the NPA – the armed component of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), collects close to P500 million yearly in revolutionary taxes.

“This is plain and simple extortion,” Alvarez said.

“We have not heard from the Makabayan bloc a clear and unequivocal condemnation of revolutionary taxation, leading us to suspect that they either directly or indirectly benefit from it,” he also said.

Makabayan lawmaker, ACT Rep. Antonio Tinio, has belied reports that the House militant bloc was among those who suffered infrastructure cuts.

“Consistent with our stand against the pork barrel system, we have no infrastructure projects. We submitted no proposals for infrastructure projects. As far as we’re concerned, there’s nothing to ‘zero’. Our electoral success proves that our constituents vote for us on the strength of our advocacies, not patronage,” Tinio said.                    /kga