Makabayan vows to scrutinize 'Bagong Pilipinas' in budget deliberations
ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro
The militant Makabayan bloc vowed Sunday, July 16 to closely scrutinize the government rebranding effort under the "Bagong Pilipinas" emblem during the upcoming budget deliberations in the House of Representatives. "We will closely scrutinize this so-called rebranding in the upcoming budget hearings to safeguard the people's money from being used to rewrite history," ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro said in a statement following Malacañang's announcement of the Bagong Pilipinas rebrand. According to Castro, the current Marcos administration is essentially trying to "deodorize" the past administration of the late former strongman president Ferdinand Marcos Sr. This, as she noted that Marcos Jr. has been reviving defunct projects of his father like the "Kadiwa stores, Masagana 99, and now the Bagong Pilipinas". Castro says Bagong Pilipinas sounds similar to Marcos Sr.'s "Bagong Lipunan" branding. "Rather than being fixated on the form and other superficialities, Pres. Marcos Jr. should focus on the substance," the House deputy minority leader said. "Mas kailangan ng mamamayan ang isang administrasyon na seryosong tumututok sa pangangailangan nila: sahod, trabaho, food security, pagbaba ng presyo ng bilihin, karapatan," she said. (What is needed more by the people is an administration that seriously focuses on their necessities: salaries, jobs, food security, lowering prices of basic goods, and rights.) Castro emphasized the significance of learning from history and ensuring that the mistakes of the past are not repeated. "Any attempt to glorify or revise this dark period in our history must be met with vigilance and opposition." "We will continue to advocate for genuine progress and development that is rooted in the welfare and empowerment of the Filipino people. We will not allow the rebranding efforts to overshadow the need for genuine change and accountability," she concluded. Castro, Gabriela Party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas, and Kabataan Party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel comprise the Makabayan bloc in the House.