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. 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." 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. “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. "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 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.
The Communist-aligned Makabayan bloc leaves the majority of the Philippine lower House over disagreements due to the ongoing drug crackdown.