Reds ‘chicken out’ in Senate ‘Konfrontasi’

AFTER pummeling the government with accusation of ‘red-tagging’ for more than two years now, members of the ‘Makabayan Bloc’ in Congress “chickened out” of confronting government executives and former members of the Communist Party of the Philippines and the New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) during a Senate hearing called last week to finally settle the issue.

Instead, the Makabayan representatives—Carlos Isagani Zarate, Eufemia Cullamat and Ferdinand Gaite (Bayan Muna), Arlene Brosas (Gabriela), France Castro (ACT) and, Sarah Elago (Kabataan)—assigned a lawyer, Atty. Maneeka Sarza, who simply read their two-page letter to the Senate explaining why they refused to attend the hearing called by Sen. Panfilo Lacson last November 3, 2020 and which was attended by top government officials.

Two weeks ago, amidst the brouhaha stirred by the group’s claim that the military, thru Southern Luzon (Solcom) chief, Lt. General Antonio Parlade Jr., had even dared to “red-tag’ popular actress Liza Soberano, Lacson, chair of the Committee on National Defense and Security, Peace, Unification and Reconciliation, finally filed Senate Resolution 559 to “exercise” his committee’s oversight function over the country’s national defense and security establishments.

Lacson was also partly prompted to call the hearing as the Makabayan Bloc, accused of being “front organizations” of the CPP, as the group is also criticizing the newly-enacted RA 11479 or the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, claiming it would be used by the national security establishment to further red-tagging. Lacson is the principal author of the law.

In his opening statement, Lacson said he called the hearing to deliberate on the “root of the conflict on red-tagging and other related matters of national concerns and the raging conflict between state actors and progressive groups.”

In their excuse letter, the MB suddenly claimed there are other pressing national problems on health and the economy due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the devastations brought by Super Typhoon ‘Rolly’ which swept over the country some three days before the hearing was called.

“Nararapat na ituon nating lahat ang atensyon sa pagtugon sa mga kagyat na pangangailangan ng ating mga kababayang biktima ng pandemya at kalamidad, hindi sa pulitikal na pananakot at pagpapalaganap ng kasinungalingan,” the letter said.

It also appealed on Lacson not to allow his committee and the Senate as a venue for the executive branch to ‘red-tag’ government critics that the group also claimed subsequently resulted to ‘extra-judicial killings’ and other violations of human rights by state forces.

On social media, Elago also posted herself allegedly on her way to help calamity victims in Cavite province.

But on social media too, netizens, reacted negatively to the MB’s decision to boycott the proceeding, with most reactions averring the lawmakers were a ‘no-show’ for fear of their being unmasked as ranking officials of the CPP, as the accusation against them claim.

With the MB forfeiting their right to a fair hearing, government executives and military officials— Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, National Security adviser, Hermogenes Esperon, Interior Secretary Eduardo M. Año, AFP chief, Gen. Gilbert Gapay, Solcom chief, Parlade, PCOO undersecretary Lorraine Badoy, NICA director Alex Paul Monteagudo— had the more than 6 hours hearing all for themselves.

Their presentations and statements also categorically identified the MB as “legal fronts” of the CPP with Sec. Año also reminding everyone that it was not the government who first identified the group as CPP front organizations but CPP founder, Jose Maria Sison.

Sison, in a speech in Brussels in 1987, identified the groups comprising the MB as the CPP’s “legal democratic forces” in the Philippines, working in tandem with the party and its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA) to bring down the Philippine government by armed revolution.

For his part, Sen, Rolando ‘Bato’ dela Rosa, said while he bewailed the MB’s decision to abandon their right to refute the allegations against them during the hearing, “it is about time that we call a spade, a spade.”

“Tama na ang 50 taong panloloko at panlilinlang na ginagawa nitong teroristang grupo na CPP-NPA-NDF sa ating mga kababayan.

“Sila ang hadlang sa pag-unlad ng ating bansa, lalong lalo na sa ating mga kanayunan,” said the former chief of the Philippine National Police.