PRESIDENTIAL communications undersecretary and National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) spokesperson, Lorraine Badoy, again challenged the so-called ‘Makabayan Bloc’ in Congress to condemn the ‘Communist Terrorist Groups’ (CTGs), represented by the Communist Party of the Philippines, its armed wing, the New People’s Army and its umbrella alliance, the National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) for committing thousands of atrocities and violations of the International Humanitarian Law (IHL) that have been documented by the government over the years.
“Their silence is deafening. Why are their silent,” Badoy asked during the weekly virtual press briefing of the NTF-ELCAC last May 24, 2021, referring to leftist lawmakers as well as the pseudo-human rights group, Karapatan.
Badoy made the challenge after the Makabayan Bloc, whose component organizations have been acknowledged by CPP founder, Jose Maria Sison, as comprising the CPP’s “legal democratic forces” in the Philippines—called for the start of congressional hearings in yet another resolution, House Resolution 1590, calling on both chambers of Congress to ‘criminalize’ ‘red-tagging.’
In challenging the group, Badoy pointed to the submitted report of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), which has thus far documented 1,506 violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) perpetrated by the CPP-NPA over a 10-year period, from 2010 to 2020.
The Makabayan Bloc first publicly conceded they cannot denounce the CPP-NPA and the atrocities they committed during a Senate hearing late last year on the issue of red-tagging.
The violations include the use of 544 children as NPA ‘child warriors.’
“Ito, maliwanag, maliwanag ang karumal-dumal na pinaggagawa ng CPP-NPA-NDF sa ating mga kababayan na walang kalaban-laban.
“Bakit kayo tahimik? I-denounce ninyo! Karapatan Tina Palabay, i-denounce ninyo ito, iyong kababuyan na ginawa ng CPP-NPA-NDF na sabi ninyo ay you’re not part of.” Badoy said, adding:
“I want to challenge Caloy Zarate, Sara Elago, Eufemia Cullamat, Arlene Brosas, France Castro, Ferdinand Gaite, to condemn these crimes that were done on our people.
Badoy was referring to the Makabayan’s official representatives in Congress, further adding:
“They’re self-professed defenders of the Filipino people, that’s what they tell us they are.
“Iyon ang kanilang claims ‘di ba? Kahit iyong Karapatan ‘di ba iyan iyong ipinaglalaban ninyo ‘di ba?” the spokesperson said during the briefing.
The Makabayan Bloc first publicly conceded they cannot denounce the CPP-NPA and the atrocities they committed during a Senate hearing late last year on the issue of red-tagging.
Repeatedly prodded by Sen. Panfilo Lacson, Sen. Ronald ‘Bato’ dela Rosa and other lawmakers, the Makabayan was steadfast in their position not to denounce the CPP-NPA.
Referring to the Makabayan lawmakers as the “Joma Sison bloc,” in Congress, Badoy insisted that the majority of them are being used by CPP-NPA-NDF.
She added that the leftist groups were only interested in raising funds and has collected millions of dollars in foreign donations by misrepresenting themselves as human rights advocates.
“Iyan iyong—diyan kayo kumukuha ng pinagkakakitaan ninyo ‘di ba? Sa international audience na iyan ang raket ninyo ‘di ba? Iyan ang pakilala ninyo na kayo ay lumalaban para sa karapatan ng Pilipino.”
She added that the continued refusal of the Makabayan bloc and their affiliated militant and left-leaning groups like Karapatan to condemn the CPP-NPA-NDF is “irredeemable.”
Founded in 2009, the Makabayang Koalisyon ng Mamamayan or ‘Makabayan Bloc’ is a coalition of twelve party-lists political parties in the House of Representatives.
Current members of the group serving in Congress are Cullamat (Bayan Muna), Gaite (Bayan Muna), Zarate (Bayan Muna), Elago (Kabataan Partylist), Castro (ACT Teachers Partylist), and Brosas (Gabriela Women’s Party). The bloc is headed by former NDF chief negotiator, Satur Ocampo and failed senatorial bet, Atty. Neri Colmenares, also a former Bayan Muna representative in Congress.
HB 1590 won’t get Congress approval—Andanar, Egco
Meanwhile, both presidential communications (PCOO) secretary, Martin Andanar, and presidential undersecretary, Joel Sy Egco, expressed confidence that Makabayan’s effort to criminalize red-tagging won’t get congressional nod.
On the legal aspect, Andanar, citing a ruling of the Court of Appeals in 2019 in the complaint for red-tagging that CPP front organizations have filed, said it found no “substantial evidence” to the petitioners’ allegations against top government officials.
Respondents in the case include Pres. Duterte, Department of National Defense secretary, Delfin Lorenzana, Presidential Legal Adviser Salvador Panelo, then AFP chief, Gen. Benjamin Madrigal, Solcom area commander and NTF-ELCAC spokesperson, Lt. General Antonio Parlade, Badoy and Egco.
After noting that there was no substantial evidence against the respondents, the CA, Andanar noted, further ruled:
“With the foregoing in mind, this Court finds that the allegations in the petition and the documents submitted did not fulfill the evidentiary standard to establish that petitioners’ right to life, liberty, security and privacy were violated or threatened by the respondents.
“There is no evidence of extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests, malicious prosecutions and defamations.”
The CA also chastised the petitioners, saying their claim of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances of human rights workers under the Duterte administration are “empty averments.”
“The case briefs attached to the petition are self-serving being entirely prepared by the petitioners and their organizations,” the ruling added.
In a much earlier petition that the CPP front organizations filed against the Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC) during the Macapagal Arroyo administration and which was decided by the Supreme Court on October 5, 2010 (Southern Hemisphere et al vs Anti-Terrorism Council, G.R. No. 178552000), on the constitutionality of the Human Security Act of 1997, the country’s highest court said:
“Petitioners’ obscure allegations of sporadic ‘surveillance’ and supposedly being tagged as ‘communist fronts’ in no way approximate a credible threat of prosecution. From these allegations, the Court is being lured to render an advisory opinion, which is not its function.”
For his part, Egco said the proposal “does not stand a chance,” noting that the proposal criminalizing red-tagging is “discriminatory” as it only serves an “insignificant, small group of individuals” and that the general public would not benefit from it.
“If this (proposal) passes, then what would prevent the passing of measures criminalizing, ‘fascist-tagging’ or other ‘inventions’ of the communist blocs in Congress,” Egco pointed out during the ‘Meet the Press/Report to the Nation’ media forum of the National Press Club last May 28, 2021.
“Under this (HB 1590), the public should understand, is just a defense mechanism, a shield, a protection, for the armed communist terrorist groups” Egco stressed, further adding that unlike in other countries where the communists have chosen the parliamentary road to power, the Philippines continues to battle the armed effort of the CPP to bring down the government.