The House Minority Bloc backed the Makabayan congressmen in a big way Tuesday when they faced their nemesis Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Undersecretary Lorraine Badoy at the plenary budget debates.
Fifteen of the Makabayan solons' Minority colleagues signed a manifesto of support assailing Badoy's red-and-terrorist tagging, which have angered the militant lawmakers.
A total of 21 solons--including the six-member Makabayan--signed the four-page manifesto. It was read on the plenary floor by Minority Leader Bienvenido "Benny" Abante Jr., during the consideration of the PCOO's proposed P1.59-billion budget for 2021.
The Minority Bloc in the House of Representatives has 25 members in all.
"These past days, the proposed budget briefing of the Presidential Communications Operations Office became a cause of grave concern for the House Minority. The PCOO has made use of its resources to peddle fake news, disinformation, and attacks on critics and the opposition, in an attempt to curtail dissent," Abante said.
"In particular, it has issued numerous statements in various media platforms falsely tagging as terrorists the members of the Makabayan bloc, who are members of the House Minority. At the forefront of these attacks is PCOO Usec. Lorraine Badoy," added the Manila congressman and Baptist bishop.
In the end, Abante moved for the PCOO budget to be suspended or basically set aside after Badoy didn't voluntarily apologize to the Makabayan solons for her online tirades.
Abante also demanded that Badoy and the rest of the PCOO officials take down all of their posts that slander or disrespect the Makabayan solons. He further said that Badoy ought to be removed from her post.
"As members coming from the Minority, we do our utmost to effectively and constructively scrutinize the (national budget), even to the last centavo, when possible, if only to make it responsive to the primordial needs of our people and country, especially in this crisis aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
"As we consider the budget of PCOO, it should commit to take necessary and immediate measures to hold itself accountable. It should make sure that the PCOO platform will not be used to propagate misinformation and incite hate and violence against critics of the administration," Abante said.
Bayan Muna Party-List Reps. Carlos Zarate, Ferdinand Gaite, Eugenia Cullamat; Gabriela Party-List Rep. Arlene Brosas; ACT Teachers Party-List Rep. France Castro; and Kabataan Party-List Rep. Sarah Elago comprise the Makabayan faction this 18th Congress.