Ocampo leads partylist solons in taking oath before Chief Justice Puno

Bayan Muna Representative Satur C. Ocampo led his fellow partylist solons in taking their oaths of office before Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno at the Supreme Court in Padre Faura, Manila.

Puno also swore in Anakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran and Gabriela Rep. Liza Maza to their respective terms of office.

In a statement, Ocampo said that his oath-taking is “the culmination of Bayan Muna’s hardest fought and most hard-won electoral-cum-political battle.”  This will Ocampo's third term as partylist member of the House of Representatives.

“This is a victory over the Arroyo administration’s legal persecution against me and other partylist representatives and extralegal means against our members and officers nationwide,” said Ocampo.

“Bayan Muna thanks the Filipino people for the fresh mandate to serve them. We will not fail them. We vow no let-up in championing democracy and social progress,” said Ocampo, who was among the co-accused in the rebellion case trashed with finality by the Supreme Court early this month.

According to Ocampo, “that we take our oaths before Chief Justice Puno who has a deep and constant dedication to the defense of human rights, social justice and the rule of law is in itself a message to the petty tyrant and her minions.”

Bayan Muna has so far garnered 927,730 votes or more than six percent of total partylist votes canvassed by the Commission on Elections which should entitle the group to the maximum three seats in the Lower House.

Ocampo, Beltran and Maza were the first batch of Bayan Muna partylist representatives who came to office in 2001. Beltran and Maza quit Bayan Muna in 2003 to form their own partylist groups Anakpawis and Gabriela which they led to victory in the 2004 elections.

“The Arroyo government has done everything to destroy us politically and physically but we emerged victorious and more determined than ever to pursue the Politics of Change in Congress and in the Parliament of the Streets,” said Ocampo.

“Democracy is under siege under this administration and we are prepared to champion democracy in every possible way especially now that we face the spectre of a so-called Human Security Act being geared to crush all legitimate opposition and to stifle civil liberties,” Ocampo added.

Declared Ocampo: “We will immediately file a bill repealing this terror law.”

The lawmaker said that “also high in Bayan Muna’s order of business for our third term is to help compel Mrs. Arroyo to finally put a stop to the legal persecution, extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearance of progressive leaders.”

Ocampo was House Deputy Minority Leader in the 13th Congress. Prior to joining the minority, he was elected chair of the House Special Committee on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity and member of major House committees.