(August 5, 2022) – A former top cop turned senator has filed a measure seeking to ban party-list groups “associated” with terrorists and terrorist organizations, drawing criticisms from left-wing lawmakers who called this an attempt to silence government critics.
In a bill he filed last month but published on Friday, Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa proposed additional criteria under the party-list systems act that warrants the cancellation of registration of party-list groups.
The ban includes any group that “directly or indirectly participates in acts detrimental to the best interest of the government, to overthrow the government or diminish its power, or be associated by any means to rebels or proscribed terrorist persons or groups.”
“[There] is a grave concern if the party list group’s main agenda is to infiltrate government with revolutionary principles that capitalize on violence and dissent among the people,” Dela Rosa said in the bill’s explanatory note.
Dela Rosa also sought for a ban on party-list groups that seek the participation of the youth and “other disadvantaged sectors” in committing violent and unlawful acts.
ACT Teachers Partylist Congresswoman France Castro, one of the three lawmakers of the Makabayan bloc, slammed the measure, calling it a “desperate attempt” of the government to silence their coalition and hide alleged corruption from public criticisms.
She believed the bill intended to target the bloc since the proposed provisions have been the same accusations the government has said against them and other progressive groups.
In a tweet, Raoul Manuel of Kabataan Partylist, who once had a heated exchange with Dela Rosa in a hearing on proposals to revive the mandatory Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC), also shared the same concerns.
“Ang pagpapatuloy na pag-target ng administrasyong ito laban sa Makabayan bloc ay ang patuloy na pag-atake sa karapatan ng mamamayang Pilipino na maghalal ng mga representanteng kumakatawan sa kanilang sektor na marginalized,” Castro said.
The left-wing Makabayan Bloc, which also includes Gabriela, Bayan Muna, and Anakpawis, have been known for their role as “fiscalizers” in the Congress. They have also pushed for legislations related to land reform, improvement of labor conditions, and human rights.
To recall, the party-list groups once faced a disqualification case accusing them of advocating for violence and of links to the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing New People’s Army (CPP-NPA), which have been tagged by the government as terrorist organizations.
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) scrapped the petition in 2020, citing a lack of proof on the claims and the petitioner’s apparent lack of interest in pursuing the case.
Human rights groups have raised concerns that the practice of “terror-tagging” and “red-tagging,” or the accusations against civilian progressive groups of links to the Maoist-led rebellion, have been used to expose them to harassment and even killings.
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