Bayan Muna brings out top bets in return bid to Congress
MANILA, Philippines — Despite facing criticism, lawyer Neri Colmenares has long been regarded as one of the country’s finest legal minds, to the point that even if he was mostly a Minority member in the House of Representatives, old colleagues still sought his input during Charter change discussions.
Last February 27, when the House was in the thick of talks about proposed economic amendments to the 1987 Constitution, Colmenares warned his former colleagues that using the phrase “unless otherwise provided by law” would centralize powers to Congress and may expose it to lobbying money.
READ: Colmenares: Key phrase in Charter amendment centralizes power to Congress
Colmenares’ opinions were heard by the 19th Congress, but it was only for this matter. However, Filipinos may see the former lawmaker return to the Batasang Pambansa if the party-list group Bayan Muna secures enough votes in the 2025 midterm elections.
And what the people may expect if they get back in Congress, Colmenares said, is for them to continue calling out possible problems in government.
“Sa budget, ang Bayan Muna, isa sa pinaka-importante bahagi ng pag-scrutinize o pag-aral sa budget. Palagi ang Bayan Muna, matindi ang aming pag-debate d’yan sa Kongreso para ma-ensure o masawata ang mga irregular na mga pondo na sa budget natin,” Colmenares said in a press briefing before Bayan Muna’s national convention on Thursday in Quezon City.
Article continues after this advertisement(Regarding the budget, Bayan Muna participates in the most important parts of scrutinizing the budget. Bayan Muna always engages in intense debates in Congress to ensure that we can prevent irregular funds in the budget.)
Article continues after this advertisement“Pero gusto ko lang sabihin, kagabi inaprubahan ng budget. Again may emergency certification si Pangulong (Ferdinand) Marcos. Ang tanong, bakit ka nag-certify ng emergency ngayong September, eh January 1 pa naman ang budget maging effective?” he asked, criticizing the House’s quick passage of the proposed 2025 national budget.
(But I just want to point out that the budget was approved last night. Again, President Ferdinand Marcos issued an emergency certification. The question is, why certify an emergency this September when the budget won’t take effect until January 1?)
Colmenares was not the only one who sought to return to the House. For the first time in decades, Bayan Muna did not land a seat in Congress in the 2022 elections, which resulted in the Makabayan bloc’s strength being reduced to just three lawmakers — ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro, Gabriela party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas, and Kabataan party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel.
Experienced bets
While Colmenares may be Bayan Muna’s first nominee, he is not the lone veteran in the group’s lineup. Behind him are three former lawmakers: three-term lawmaker and lawyer Carlos Zarate as the second nominee, government employee welfare advocate Ferdinand Gaite as the third nominee, and Eufemia Cullamat as the fourth nominee.
During the press briefing, Zarate noted that Bayan Muna has always been the opponent of corrupt officials.
“Naging maningning ang record ng Bayan Muna sa loob ng 25 taon, walang bahid, kahit isang singkong duling na korapsyon ang mga kinatawan ng Bayan Muna, ang mga opisyal nito, at miyembro nito. Pero kahit na napaka-linis ng aming record sa usapin ng korapsyon, naging kalaban ng mga corrupt ang Bayan Muna,” Zarate said.
(Bayan Muna’s record for 25 years has been stellar, no hint of corruption, not even a cent was attributed as stolen by Bayan Muna representatives, officials, and members. But aside from having a clean record in terms of corruption, we in Bayan Muna fought against corrupt officials.)
“Kung kurap ka, lagot ka sa Bayan Muna. Kaya ipinakita natin sa nakaraang 25 taon, unang larangan kung saan tinutunggali natin ang korapsyon, ay sa usapin ng usapin ng budget, nabanggit na kasamang Neri kanina, ang pag-expose ng Bayan Muna sa mga usapin ng pork barrel. Noon pa man hanggang ngayon, kahit na sinabi ng Korte Suprema na unconstitutional ang pork barrel, tinutuligsa pa rin ng Bayan Muna dahil alam natin nakasuksok ang mga matatabang pork sa budget,” he added.
(If you’re corrupt, you’re in trouble with Bayan Muna. That’s why we have shown in the past 25 years that the forefront of our fight against corruption is at the budget deliberations. As Neri mentioned earlier, Bayan Muna has been active in exposing matters related to the pork barrel. Back then and until now, even if the Supreme Court declared pork barrel unconstitutional, we still call it out because we know that there are still significant pork allocations hidden in the budget.)
Other established names from the progressive groups are returning to the limelight, too — Bagong Alyansang Makabayan chairperson and former Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casiño will run for the Senate, while former ACT Teachers party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio will try to return Congress through the party-list.
Both are former three-term lawmakers — Casiño from 2004 to 2013, and Tinio from 2010 to 2009.
Castro and Brosas, who are on their final term as lawmakers, will join the Makabayan’s Senate slate.
“Our commitment to stand up for educators and the Filipino people remains unwavering,” Tinio said in a statement. “We will continue to champion a nationalistic, scientific, and mass-oriented education system that serves the interests of the nation.”
While it appears that the Makabayan Coalition has not been subjected to intense scrutiny and red-tagging, the practice of linking activists to communist rebels, they will be facing an uphill battle in 2025.
In the 2022 party-list race alone, 178 groups participated, when there were only 63 out of 316 seats in the House. For the Senatorial elections, none of the Makabayan bets were in the top 24 spots as of surveys released last August.
READ: Rep. Tulfo, Sotto top choices for 2025 Senate race – survey
Just this Thursday morning, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced the administration-backed lineup, consisting of household names like former Senate President Vicente Sotto, former Senators Manny Pacquiao and Panfilo Lacson, and re-electionists Senators Bong Revilla, Pia Cayetano, Lito Lapid, and Francis Tolentino.
According to the Pulse Asia survey taken last June 2024, 10 of the 12 administration candidates are in the top 24.
