Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana’s vow to seek the disqualification of Makabayan partylist groups and eventual removal of their representatives in the House of Representatives drew massive flak from lady members of the bloc on Monday.

ACT Teachers partylist Rep. France Castro and Gabriela Parytlist Rep. Arlene Brosas chided Lorenzana and other military officials for playing politics when they are allegedly barred by Constitution from engaging in partisan political activities.

The two congresswomen said Lorenzana cannot hide the political motive behind his bid to remove the six Makabayan solons who belong to the minority bloc in the Lower House.

In a press statement, Brosas reminded Lorenzana and AFP chief-of-staff Gen. Gilbert Gapay that as members of the military establishment, they should abide by the provisions of Section 5 Article XVI of the Constitution that states that "no member of the military shall engage, directly or indirectly, in any partisan political activity." 

"Kung sino pa ang mataas ang posisyon sa gobyerno, sila pa itong umaastang nakakataas sa batas (They are high officials of government yet they act like they are above the law),” said Brosas.

In a separate press release, Castro, who is assistant minority leader, said she is surprised Lorenzana finds wrong in people who voted for Makabayan partylists groups for their “stance for higher salaries, genuine land reform, for the respect and protection of the rights of teachers, workers, students and all Filipinos.”’ 

“Secretary Lorenzana's statements saying he was firm in having the Makabayan lawmakers disqualified or removed in Congress shows the true agenda behind the red-tagging spree unleashed by the Duterte administration,” she said.

In a radio intervciew, Lorenzana declared he is strongly supporting the petition of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict to have the Makabayan solons disqualified as members of the Lower House.
The defense chief is a member of NTF-ELCAC.

According to Lorenzana, disqualifying the Makabayan lawmakers for their links to the terrorist group CPP-NPA, is one way of cleansing Congress of lawmakers who are supportive of the communist movement and critical of the government to win people over to the side of rebels.

"If you're really not part of them, then you have to denounce them and their terrorist activities and really distance from them," he said. 

Castro said the red-tagging operation of NTF-ELCAC is clearly part of the Duterte government’s continued “push for militaristic attack against the people.”

“These baseless allegations and illogical statements of the security sector against the Makabayan bloc and other progressive organizations only shows (sic) that they are the true peace saboteurs and have no interest in solving the roots of armed conflict,” she added.