Palparan hit on subversion

MANILA, Philippines – Senators Francis Escudero and Loren Legarda yesterday slammed new party list Rep. Jovito Palparan for pushing to revive the Anti-Subversion Law.

“It’s a great leap backward. We have come a long way in nurturing political pluralism by allowing beliefs espoused by all political forces to be heard in the marketplace of ideas,” Escudero said.

He said the country will be better off rejecting this proposal to “salvage a Cold War relic from the dustbin of history.”

“We cannot return to the dark days when people were punished for espousing views contrary to the established order. There are other laws which ensure punishment for those who seek to impose their will on the people by force of arms,” he added.

Legarda said the proposal is “totally out of sync with democratic ideals and the protection of civil liberties.”

“The Anti-Subversion Law was thrown out the window precisely because it was one of the many decrees that were used in the past to stifle dissent, even those undertaken in line with the constitutionally guaranteed right of the people to free speech and redress of grievances,” she added.

Legarda thinks that the proposal won’t fly even if the Palace certifies it as urgent.

“It is one thing to propose to revive a monstrosity; it is another matter to allow it to come back from the grave to haunt the Filipino people. It will not be passed by the Senate, that’s for sure,” she said.

Bayan Muna Slams Palparan

A left-leaning group at the House of Representatives that felt alluded to in Bantay Rep. Jovito Palparan’s attempt to revive the Anti-Subversion Law yesterday accused the retired major general of using public funds against the people’s interests.

Reps. Satur Ocampo, Teddy Casiño and Neri Colmenares of party-list Bayan Muna, whom Palparan said continues to have ties with the Communist Party of the Philippines and the New People’s Army, issued a press statement condemning the revival of the repealed law.

“Palparan has been exposed. His main interest in Congress is not to serve the marginalized and underrepresented but to attack progressive party-list groups and the poor and marginalized constituencies they represent,” they declared.

Palparan has challenged Ocampo and his colleagues to renounce their communist links, but until now, no one among their ranks has done so.

Prior to his election as congressman, Ocampo was spokesman for the National Democratic Front, a CPP umbrella organization.

“They (Ocampo, et al) have not renounced their links to the NPA and they may be still active. They are fooling the people and abusing the resources of a democratic government,” Palparan said earlier.

He said the left-wing lawmakers should be barred from running in Congress.

Critics of leftist organizations find it ironic that these groups use government funds in the alleged procurement of armaments that are being used to overthrow the government.

They cite as an example the botched coup in February 2006, where leftist groups led by Ocampo and the so-called Batasan 5 allegedly connived with junior military officers to topple the government.

The tables are now turned, since left-leaning groups are now pointing the accusing finger.

“Palparan’s attempt to revive the repressive law (RA 1700) is not only an attack on constitutional rights but shows his penchant to neutralize people not on the basis of evidence but on the mere suspicion that they are members of the CPP,” Bayan Muna said.

“This mindset also shows his militaristic obsession with war and his animosity to any attempt to achieve just peace in the country. People’s money should never be spent on one whose actions will only serve to oppress the people,” it added.

“The revival of the anti-subversion law is a throwback to the dark years of martial rule. It will shatter whatever hope is left for the peace process to continue as it will entail the illegalization and banning of the Communist Party,” the militant lawmakers said.

“There can be no peace process if one party declares the other party illegal not on the basis of whether it committed criminal acts, but on the basis of its political or ideological beliefs,” they added.

CPP, which has been tagged by both the US and European Union as a terrorist organization, is the party to which these lawmakers are identified, while the NPA is the armed wing of the CPP, which is headed by self-exiled communist leader Jose Ma. Sison. – Delon Porcalla