Makabayan Bloc gravely condemned President Duterte’s pronouncements on the partylists’ alleged connection with the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) this afternoon, March 30.
Makabayan stressed Duterte’s latest tactic as a desperate measure to hamper the strengthening opposition. Gabriela Women’s Party-list representative Arlene Brosas regarded it as an “old playlist” and a death threat to silence dissenters.
“Ieendanger nito ang buhay ng mga sibilyan, kahit po kami. Habang napakalaki ng mga dapat ayusin sa pamahalaan sa kasalukuyan dahil ang tindi ng price shock pagkatapos ng pagtaas ng presyo ng langis. Kaya, sa totoo lang, napakaraming dapat ayusin ang administrasyon, lalo na si Duterte, pero pinili niyang iredtag ang Makabayan Bloc,” Brosas said.
In his pre-recorded Talk to the People aired yesterday, Duterte falsely tagged the Makabayan Bloc as “front organizations” of communist groups. This narrative is also propagated by the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) who mocks Makabayan as “Kamatayan bloc” and KABAG.
Under the Duterte regime, Karapatan Alliance reported 427 cases of extrajudicial killings (not including those killed in the drug war), 537 frustrated EJK, 580,258 victims of threat, harassment, and intimidation, and 480 political prisoners since July 2016 to December 2021.
Makabayan cited the successive hikes in the prices of oil, causing increases in the price of basic goods. Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Party-list representative France Castro lambasted the president’s poor attempt to be “relevant.” Castro stated Duterte must address the people’s issues, including the inflation of prices due to the oil price hike and the calls to remove excise taxes levied by Duterte’s TRAIN Law.
She asserted the president’s non-response to the people’s demands as favorable to large corporations who have profited off of the pandemic and education crisis.
Castro also raised issues in the education sector and condemned the Duterte administration’s poor allocation of funds, neglecting demands for the safe resumption for face-to-face classes.
Earlier this month, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) cancelled freshmen scholarship applications for 2022-2023, allegedly due to “budget inadequacy.” CHED stated their funds for the student financial assistance programs (StuFAPS) is insufficient. Around P1.8B was provided for the commission’s financial assistance program.
Makabayan further addressed issues on people’s wages, asserting their demands to increase the minimum wage to P750 nationwide. They asserted various sectors have been consistently victimized by the consecutive increase in prices, especially the low-paid workers.
Moreover, the president’s promise to junk contractualization was raised by labor leader and senatoriable Elmer “Ka Bong” Labog. He said Duterte, in 2016, promised he will end the endo scheme during his term as president and asserted Duterte’s term may end first before he addresses the workers’ demands.
Labog cited the brutal killings of labor leaders Manny Asuncion and Dandy Miguel in March last year and condemned the Duterte administration’s resort to state terrorism instead of addressing the workers’ and people’s demands.
READ: https://bit.ly/36JE9sW
Kabataan Party-list Rep. Sarah Elago raised similar sentiments on the Duterte administration’s brazen red tagging on the youth sector. Elago furthered Duterte’s attempts to cripple the sector’s efforts to defeat the Marcos-Duterte tandem.
“Hindi nito mapipigilan ang mga kabataan na isulong ang isang tapat na pamamahala na uunahin ang kapakanan ng mamamayang Pilipino,” Elago stated.
Makabayan Bloc said the Duterte administration’s repetitive recycling of their red-tagging attempts sources groundless allegations from the likes of fake surrenderee Jeffrey Celiz and NTF-ELCACt Usec. Lorraine Badoy.
They have notoriously spewed baseless accusations against the administration’s critics, such as NTF-ELCAC’s allegations on SINAG as a front organization of the CPP-NPA-NDF and the false CPP-Robredo alliance.
Last March 23, various sectors filed three separate complaints against Badoy to the Ombudsman. The CSSP Student Council, alongside Movement Against Disinformation (MAD) clamors for the suspension of Badoy until the end of Duterte’s presidency.
READ: http://bit.ly/3NAbAic
Today, March 30, Labog with other labor leaders filed another complaint against red tagger Badoy. This comes after Badoy’s red tagging spree on vice president Leni Robredo and the Makabayan Bloc. They claim her activities constitute “grave misconduct, oppression and conduct.”
“Dapat magkaroon ng kagyat na pagtugon, lalong lalo na mapanganib talaga ang ginagawa nilang pagreredtag sa mga mass leaders. Yun yung ating prayer na kailangan ng immediate action ang Ombudsman, at isuspend si USec. Badoy sa paggamit ng pondo ng mamamayan, sa paggamit ng kaniyang public office upang makielam sa nagaganap na electoral exercise,” Labog stated.
The Makabayan Bloc further asserted the administration’s resort to red tagging as an election, political, squid tactic.
Bayan Muna representative Carlo Zarate stated the Duterte administration’s red-tagging as attacks on the growing opposition against the Marcos-Duterte tandem and an act of desperation to divert the people from the issues worsened by the president’s continuous negligence amid the pandemic. He said it is “highly condemnable” as it exceeds simple labelling and signals open attacks against the administration’s critics.
“Hindi na lang ito simpleng labelling. Ito ay dangerous, at signal ng open attacks. Physical attacks, in fact, sa progresibong bloke at mga miyembro ng oposisyon para lang maproteksyunan at maituloy ang pamamahala ng Duterte administration beyond May 9, 2022,” Zarate stated.
Makabayan highlighted their commitment to defend and uphold the people’s calls and demands, with or without elections and amid attacks from the state.
“Wag tayong pagagapi sa walang habas na red tagging at paninira. Lalo nating palakasin ang pagkakaisa at tunggaliin ang paninira upang ipanalo ang makabayang pagbabago,” Bayan Muna Rep. Eufemia Cullamat stated.
According to private polling institutions, all five Makabayan bloc party-lists are assured of at least one seat each based on the March election surveys. Last January, Makabayan endorsed Leni Robredo as opposition’s bet versus the Marcos-Duterte tandem.
#NoToRedTagging
#AbolishNTFELCAC
Featured image courtesy of Sinag staff
