GOODBYE, MAJORITY. The Makabayan bloc officially ends its membership in the House majority bloc. File photo by Bea Cupin/Rappler

MANILA, Philippines (2nd UPDATE) – Seven party-list representatives belonging to the Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives on Thursday, September 14, announced they were leaving the majority bloc.

"Today, we, 7 party-list representatives of the Makabayan bloc, declare our separation from the majority coalition in the House of Representatives to intensify our opposition to the Duterte administration that has now fully unraveled as a fascist, pro-imperialist, and anti-people regime," the bloc said in a statement on Thursday, ahead of a press conference.

The following legislators belong to the Makabayan bloc:

ACT Teachers Representative Antonio Tinio

ACT Teachers Representative France Castro

Gabriela Representative Emmi de Jesus

Gabriela Representative Arlene Brosas

Bayan Muna Representative Carlos Zarate

Anakpawis Representative Ariel Casilao

Kabataan Representative Sarah Elago

Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte 1st District Representative Rodolfo Fariñas told Tinio in a text message: "I accept and respect your decision with a heavy heart." Tinio informed Fariñas through text message of their decision ahead of the press conference.

The majority bloc is composed mostly of Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) members and several other political parties which inked deals with the ruling party.

'Independent bloc'

The coalition of 7 will now form an "independent bloc" in the House of Representatives. They won't be the only one.

The House is composed of the "supermajority," the majority-recognized minority bloc, the "independent minority" bloc, and now, the "independent" Makabayan bloc.

During his candidacy, President Rodrigo Duterte declared himself the only leftist and socialist presidential candidate. Early on, he promised peace talks with communists and allowed the National Democratic Front (NDF) to nominate possible appointees to key Cabinet positions.

Makabayan, in their statement, said it was this promise that prompted them to join the PDP-Laban-led majority coalition "consistent with [their] stand to support the promise of change of President Duterte."

"Back then, we were encouraged by his reformist and populist actions and pronouncements on a range of issues, including: resuming the peace talks with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), releasing political prisoners, ending neocolonial ties with the US and pursuing an independent foreign policy, addressing the roots of the Moro rebellion, ending labor contractualization, increasing government support to farmers, putting a stop to destructive mining practices, reducing income taxes of rank and file employees, and increasing social pensions, and prioritizing basic social services over infrastructure," the bloc said.

Its alliance with the majority was also "premised on the condition" that they would still challenge the administration's position on Duterte's "neoliberal economic policies, his disdain for human rights especially in his war on drugs, anti-crime and counterinsurgency campaigns, his rehabilitation of the former dictator Marcos, and his propensity for strongman rule."

That relationship has turned shaky since then, with the souring of peace talks and the rejection of two left-leaning nominees by the Commission on Appointments – Judy Taguiwalo as social welfare secretary and Rafael Mariano as agrarian reform secretary.

The Makabayan bloc scored Duterte for apparently failing to fulfill promises made at the beginning of his term.

The bloc said in its statement:

The peace negotiations with the NDFP have been practically terminated due to Duterte's insistence of a bilateral ceasefire agreement prior to any talks. With Marawi being bombed to the ground and its resulting humanitarian crisis, the Moro peace process is spiraling downward. Under these circumstances, martial law threatens to turn Mindanao into an even more violent land of strife and lost promises.

President Duterte has turned back on his promise to "separate" from the US, even as he has allowed China to continue occupying the West Philippine Sea. His "independent foreign policy" has turned out to be a farce. He is now as dependent as ever on the US for national security and has practically abandoned our valid and internationally-recognized claims of sovereignty and territory in the West Philippine Sea in exchange for China's promises of aid and investments.

President Duterte's little concessions to farmers, workers, and the urban poor have been reduced to populist posturing in the face of his overwhelmingly neoliberal economic policies that favor the oligarchs and foreign powers he claims to disdain.

Worst of all, his "war on drugs" has turned into a campaign of mass murder of the poor, for which he shows no signs of turning back.

As representatives of the poor and marginalized sectors in Congress and as nationalist and progressive legislators, it would be a violation of our duties and principles to remain with a majority that enables and defends the fascist, pro-imperialist, and anti-people policies of the Duterte regime.

Malacañang said it has taken "due notice of the decision" of the Makabayan bloc.

"We were hopeful that they would remain open to working together with the administration, particularly on pro-poor, pro-people issues," Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella said in a statement. – Rappler.com</s>The militant Makabayan bloc announced on Thursday its separation from the super majority in the House of Representatives.

The seven-member bloc composed of militant lawmakers from Bayan Muna, Anakpawis, Kabataan, Gabriela and Act Teachers party-lists said it is breaking away from the majority to oppose the present “pro-imperialist” and “fascist” administration.

“Today, we, seven party list representatives of the Makabayan Bloc, declare our separation from the Majority Coalition in the House of Representatives to intensify our opposition to the Duterte administration that has now fully unraveled as a fascist, pro-imperialist and anti-people regime,” the bloc said in a statement.

The Makabayan bloc was a member of the super majority in Congress after voting for the Speakership bid of key Duterte ally Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez. /kga</s>MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/14 September) — The seven party list representatives of the Makabayan Bloc on Thursday broke away from the majority coalition in the House of Representatives in protest over what they called “a fascist, pro-imperialist and anti-people regime” of President Rodrigo Duterte.

In a statement, the Makabayan Bloc cited Duterte’s “neoliberal economic policies, disdain for human rights especially in his war on drugs, anti-crime and counterinsurgency campaigns, his rehabilitation of the former dictator Marcos, and his propensity for strongman rule” as its reasons for leaving the coalition.

It noted that it joined the majority because Duterte promised change but remained critical of his policies.

The statement said the bloc was encouraged by the President’s pronouncements on resuming the peace talks with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines, releasing political prisoners, pursuing an independent foreign policy, addressing the roots of the Moro rebellion, among others.

“His unprecedented decision to appoint leftists and activists to crucial cabinet posts – Judy Taguiwalo at the DSWD, Gina Lopez at the DENR, Liza Maza at the NAPC, and Rafael Mariano at the DAR – provided openings for pursuing such reforms,” it added.

The Commission on Appointments had rejected the appointments of Taguiwalo, Lopez and Mariano.

Duterte had terminated talks with the NDFP and declared martial law in Mindanao after the Marawi siege erupted on May 23.

“With Marawi being bombed to the ground and its resulting humanitarian crisis, the Moro peace process is spiraling downward. Under these circumstances, martial law threatens to turn Mindanao into an even more violent land of strife and lost promises,” the statement said.

The administration has charted a so-called road map for peace in Mindanao targeting to have the Bangsamoro Basic Law passed by December this year and ratified in a plebiscite in May next year. However, the bill is not among those certified as urgent by Malacanang.

“Pres. Duterte has turned back on his promise to ‘separate’ from the US, even as he has allowed China to continue occupying the West Philippine Sea. His ‘independent foreign policy’ has turned out to be a farce. He is now as dependent as ever on the US for national security and has practically abandoned our valid and internationally recognized claims of sovereignty and territory in the West Philippine Sea in exchange for China’s promises of aid and investments,” the statement said.

“Worst of all, his ‘war on drugs’ has turned into a campaign of mass murder of the poor, for which he shows no signs of turning back,” it added.

Duterte’s war on drugs has claimed the lives of thousands of suspects many of whom were said to be victims of extrajudicial killings.

The Makabayan Bloc further said that Duterte and his allies are “embarking on efforts to undermine the very institutions that serve as a check on his Executive powers,” referring to the P1,000 budget for the Commission on Human Rights approved by the House, attacks against the Ombudsman, and the impeachment complaint against Supreme Court Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno.

“Now that he is pushing for an insidious revision of the Constitution, now that he has revived his threat to declare martial law nationwide and impose a revolutionary government, we resolve to intensify efforts to defeat the emergence of a new dictatorship,” it added.

The Makabayan Bloc includes Representatives Antonio Tinio and France Castro (Act Teachers), Emmi de Jesus and Arlene Brosas (Gabriela Women’s Party), Carlos Isagani Zarate (Bayan Muna), Ariel Casilao (Anakpawis), Sarah Elago (Kabataan). (MindaNews)</s>THE Makabayan bloc announced that it was separating from the majority at the House of Representatives.

The group made the announcement in a press conference today, Wednesday, at the ACT Conference Room of the House.

The decision came a week after the bloc, consisting of Bayan-Muna, Gabriela, ACT Teachers, Kabataan and Anakpawis Party-List groups met following the recent rejections by the Commission on Appointments of Rafael Mariano and Judy Taguiwalo as secretaries of the Departments of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Rep.Carlos Zarate of Bayan Muna Representative Carlos Zar said.

“As representatives of the poor and marginalized sectors in Congress and as nationalist and progressive legislators, it would be a violation of our duties and principles to remain with a Majority that enables and defends the fascist, pro-imperialist and anti-people policies of the Duterte regime,” the bloc said.

Aside from Zarate, also present were Rep. Antonio Tinio of ACT; Rep. Arlene Brosas of Gabriela; Rep. Sarah Elago Kabataan and Rep. Ariel Casilao of Anakpawis. RALPH EDWIN U. VILLANUEVA</s>The leftwing Makabayan bloc on Thursday announced its split from the administration-controlled “supermajority” in the House of Representatives, saying it would act as an independent group that would fight what it described as an emerging dictatorship.

Makabayan broke its ties with President Duterte in the wake of the rejection of the appointments of former Social Welfare Secretary Judy Taguiwalo and former Agrarian Reform Secretary Rafael Mariano by the Commission on Appointments and the stalled peace talks with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines.

“Today, we, seven party list representatives of the Makabayan Bloc, declare our separation from the Majority Coalition in the House of Representatives to intensify our opposition to the Duterte administration that has now fully unraveled as a fascist, pro-imperialist and antipeople regime,” the group said in a statement.

The bloc is composed of Antonio Tinio and France Castro of ACT Teachers, Carlos Zarate of Bayan Muna, Emmi de Jesus and Arlene Brosas of Gabriela, Ariel Casilao of Anakpawis, and Sarah Elago of Kabataan.

The group vowed to defeat the “emergence of a new dictatorship,” saying the Duterte government has been trying to undermine institutions that served as a check to his powers.

“As an independent bloc in Congress, we will continue to pursue meaningful reforms and oppose measures that harm our nation and people,” the group said.

“We shall build alliances based on issues that truly matter to our people and their demand for change. We shall fight the fascist US-Duterte regime and hold it accountable for its gross violations of human rights and the further oppression and impoverishment of our people,” it added.

Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas showed reporters his exchange of text messages with Tinio where he told the ACT representative he respected and accepted the group’s decision “with a heavy heart.”

Malacañang took note of Makabayan’s decision to leave the majority.

“We were hopeful that they would remain open to working together with the Administration, particularly on pro-poor, pro-people issues,” said presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella.

The group said it was encouraged by the President’s “reformist and populist actions and pronouncements” early in his administration, including resuming peace talks to end nearly 50 years of insurgency, the release of political prisoners, ending “neocolonial” ties with the United States, addressing the roots of the Moro rebellion and other pro-poor policies.

However, the bloc said it also opposed Mr. Duterte’s policies where it had fundamental disagreements with such as the violation of human rights in the counterinsurgency campaign and the war on drugs, which “has turned into a campaign of mass murder of the poor.” The group said it also resisted the “rehabilitation” of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos and the President’s “propensity for strongman rule.”

The Makabayan’s split has created another minority faction in the 293-member chamber in addition to the 18-member group led by Minority Leader Danilo Suarez and the “Magnificent Seven” group of Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman. —WITH A REPORT FROM LEILA B. SALAVERRIA</s>Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan has expressed optimism that the “checks and balances” at the House of Representatives will be defended now that the militant Makabayan bloc decided to leave the supermajority coalition in Congress.

Pangilinan lauded and welcomed the resolve of the seven-member party-list groups comprising the Makabayan bloc for defecting from the supermajority.

“The assumption by the Makabayan bloc of an independent role at the House of Representatives assures that the democratic processes in the chamber would be preserved, and that another group may stand as a potent, vigilant, and credible fiscalizer against the imperfections and excesses of this administration,” the opoosition senator said.

The Makabayan bloc assailed President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration for supposedly turning into “a fascist, pro-imperialist and anti-people” government.

In a statement, the Makabayan bloc said: “Today, we, seven party list representatives of the Makabayan Bloc, declare our separation from the majority coalition in the House of Representatives to intensify our opposition to the Duterte administration that has now fully unraveled as a fascist, pro-imperialist and anti-people regime.”

The group’s separation from the supermajority came after 119 lawmakers voted to slash the 2018 budget of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to a meager P1,000.

“Now that President Duterte and his allies are embarking on efforts to undermine the very institutions that serve as a check on his Executive powers, now that he is pushing for an insidious revision of the Constitution, now that he has revived his threat to declare martial law nationwide and impose a revolutionary government, we resolve to intensify efforts to defeat the emergence of a new dictatorship,” the Makabayan bloc said.

The seven-member coalition includes progressive party-list lawmakers from Bayan Muna, Anakpawis, Kabataan, Gabriela and the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT-Teachers). /kga</s>THE seven-member Makabayan bloc pulled out of the “Super Majority” in the House of Representatives on Thursday, vowing to fight an emerging “new dictatorship” under President Rodrigo Duterte.

The leftist lawmakers told a news conference they would become an “independent bloc,” a decision reached by their National Executive Committee following “numerous disappointing decisions” by the President, such as the scuttling of peace talks with communist rebels.

The bloc is composed of party-list representatives Carlos Zarate of Bayan Muna, Arlene Brosas and Emmi de Jesus of Gabriela, France Castro and Antonio Tinio of ACT Teachers, Sarah Elago of Kabataan, and Ariel Casilao of Anakpawis.

“Despite one disappointment after another, we persisted in the majority in the hope that some socioeconomic and political reforms could be achieved,” the bloc said.

The bloc had secured two important legislative victories as part of the House majority – the P2,000 increase in social security pensions and free tuition in state universities in colleges.

But the lawmakers said they had to bolt the ruling coalition led by the President’s PDP-Laban party, because of the scuttled peace negotiations with the National Democratic Front, the failure of the Moro peace process, the President’s “farcical” independent foreign policy, and the war on drugs that had become a “campaign of mass murder of the poor.”

On Tuesday, the Makabayan bloc opposed the majority’s bid to defund the Commission on Human Rights, which has been critical of the drug war.

“Now that President Duterte and his allies are embarking on efforts to undermine the very institutions that serve as a check on his Executive powers, now that he is pushing for an insidious revision of the Constitution, now that he has revived his threat to declare martial law nationwide and impose a revolutionary government, we resolve to intensify efforts to defeat the emergence of a new dictatorship,” the bloc said.

“As representatives of the poor and marginalized sectors in Congress and as nationalist and progressive legislators, it would be a violation of our duties and principles to remain with a majority that enables and defends the fascist, pro-imperialist and anti-people policies of the Duterte regime,” it added.

House Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas of Ilocos Norte said he learned of the bloc’s decision through a text message from Tinio.

“I respect and accept your decision with a heavy heart, of course,” Fariñas said in his reply to Tinio.

The members of the Makabayan bloc were promptly deleted from the majority’s group on the popular smartphone messaging app Viber, Casilao said.

The bloc’s decision also came after the rejection of the Cabinet appointments of activists Judy Taguiwalo (social welfare) and Rafael Mariano (agrarian reform), a former Anakpawis representative, by the powerful Commission on Appointments.

The President had claimed that conditional cash transfers of the Social Welfare department under Taguiwalo were used to buy guns and ammunition for rebels.

Mariano was accused in the appointments body of conniving with communist rebels in attacks on banana exporter Lapanday Foods Corp. early this year.

Members of the bloc could not say whether their former colleagues Liza Maza and Terry Ridon, heads of the National Anti-Poverty Commission and the Presidential Commission on the Urban Poor, respectively, would leave the Duterte administration.

Zarate told The Manila Times the two were overseas.

Also on Thursday, the Palace announced that the President had appointed former Gabriela representative and ex-Davao City councilor Luzviminda Ilagan as undersecretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

Sought for comment, Ilagan confirmed her appointment and disclosed that she was no longer a part of the Makabayan bloc.

“My terms in Congress are over. I am no longer part of the bloc,” Ilagan told The Manila Times in a text message.
The Communist-aligned Makabayan bloc leaves the majority of the Philippine lower House over disagreements due to the ongoing drug crackdown.