NAPC head: Space for reform narrowed with CA rejection of Mariano

National Anti-poverty Commission (NAPC) Secretary Liza Maza. PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) Secretary Liza Maza declared on Wednesday that the rejection of Rafael “Ka Paeng” Mariano’s appointment as Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Secretary has “significantly narrowed” the space for reform under the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte.

In a statement, Maza, the only remaining left-leaning member in Duterte’s official family, said that the Commission on Appointments’ (CA) rejection of Mariano “is a rejection of the clamor for genuine change and development.”

“The space for reform has been narrowed to accommodate the few and powerful,” Maza noted. “For the third time, the poor and marginalized were denied a pro-people cabinet secretary in the person of Ka Paeng.”

Duterte appointed Maza as head of the NAPC upon the recommendation of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP). Maza’s position, however, does not warrant a confirmation from the CA.

Maza had earlier expressed hope that with Duterte’s promise to support agricultural development, the poor and marginalized farmers could anticipate the implementation of genuine agrarian reform through Mariano.

But such hopes for reforms dimmed, Maza said, because the CA “chose to side with few hacienderos over millions of farmers struggling to own the land they till.”

READ: CA rejects Mariano’s appointment at DAR

On Wednesday, the CA rejected Mariano’s appointment with 13 votes. He was the fourth member of the Duterte Cabinet to be rejected by the CA.

Previously, the CA rejected the appointments of fellow progressive leader former Social Welfare Secretary Judy Taguiwalo, as well as Environment Secretary Regina “Gina” Lopez, and Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. kga