Bayan Muna eyes congressional comeback in 2025
Credit to Author: Dominique Nicole Flores| Date: Tue, 1 Oct 2024 13:36:00 +0800
MANILA, Philippines — Opposition party-list Bayan Muna filed its certificate of candidacy on October 1, 2024, with 10 nominees, seeking to reclaim three seats in Congress after its first electoral defeat in the 2022 polls.
Established in 2001, the party-list had consistently won seats in Congress until its failed bid for reelection to the 19th Congress in 2022.
This decline was reflected in the 2022 elections, where Bayan Muna’s voter base plummeted from 1.1 million in 2019, when it secured three seats, to just 215,981 votes — an 80.6% drop.
The party-list attributed their loss to a disinformation campaign that vilified the group during the Duterte administration. The nominees also noted that rival party-list candidates often receive backing from political dynasties.
Losing the 2022 bid was not an issue of strategy, Bayan Muna said, as they have been consistent and supported by ordinary Filipinos.
"The problem with that election in 2022, and of course even before that, was the intense attacks against us by the Duterte administration. Many were red-tagged, many were charged, and there were even EJKs (extrajudicial killings)," Bayan Muna's first nominee Neri Colmenares said in Filipino.
Colmenares also said they strongly believe there was electronic fraud during the 2022 national elections because of the 80.6% drop in their voters.
Nominees. The party-list will be fielding former lawmakers in the lower chamber as its first three nominees in the 2025 midterm elections.
These include human rights lawyer Colmenares, former House deputy minority leader Carlos Zarate — who both served in Congress for three terms — and labor leader Ferdinand Gaite.
Colmenares previously ran for a senatorial position in the 2016, 2019 and 2022 polls but did not make the cut.
Other nominees include Lumad representative and former congresswoman Eufemia Cullamat, human rights lawyer Maria Kristina Conti and community organizer Elizabeth Mags Camoral.
Joining them as well as the seventh to tenth nominees are Irma Espinas-Espinosa, labor leader Florentino Viuya Jr., youth leader Lean Porquia and environmental activist Mitzi Tan.
The party-list’s key legislative priorities focus on economic issues, including combating corruption, reducing the cost of basic goods and services and raising wages for workers nationwide.
Colmenares said the party-list will advocate for the removal of the 12% value-added tax (VAT) from electricity, water and fuel consumption fees. They will also propose increasing daily minimum wages to P1,200 nationwide and abolish regional boards.
On eradicating corruption, the first nominee said in Filipino that Bayan Muna "has no problem with filing complaints or impeaching an official." They will also be open to collaborating with other opposition groups to ensure a victory in the 2028 national elections, he added.
"Basta korap ka, lagot ka sa Bayan Muna (As long as you are corrupt, you're in trouble with Bayan Muna)," Colmenares said.
Addressing accusations. Since Bayan Muna revealed their lineup of nominees, social media users unpacked the party-list's history during the 2016 elections, saying that the party-list "enabled" former President Rodrigo Duterte to win the presidential race.
Asked about this issue, Colmenares immediately denied the allegations that Bayan Muna voted for Duterte. They supported Sen. Grace Poe in the 2016 presidential elections, he said.
However, the lawyer also acknowledged that some Makabayan members may have voted for Duterte, but that was "their choice." Bayan Muna, he said, is "not a dictator like other political dynasties" that requires its members to vote for a specific candidate.
Colmenares added that many Filipinos were swayed by Duterte's campaign promises to increase salaries, a platform Bayan Muna champions. However, shortly after Duterte's administration began, the party-list had already criticized the former president, he added.
Legislative record. The party-list’s first nominee, Colmenares, passed a total of 11 bills during his tenure as a lawmaker.
Among these laws, one provides Filipinos with text alerts from the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council during natural hazards and man-made calamities, while another establishes special election precincts for persons with disabilities and senior citizens.
The party-list also moved for the passage of human rights legislation, including the Anti-Torture Law and Anti-Enforced Disappearance Law.
Majority of the bills Bayan Muna filed aimed to protect civil and consumer rights, regulate telecommunication services, develop renewable energy sources, lower electricity rates, improve mental health services and increase the salaries of healthcare workers.
Impeachment calls. Bayan Muna has also begun drafting an impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte for the alleged misuse of public funds from the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education. This issue was heavily scrutinized during the lower chamber's 2025 budget deliberations over the past few months.
Duterte served as the education secretary in the Marcos Jr. administration until her resignation in mid-June 2024.
Bayan Muna said the incumbent Makabayan lawmakers will endorse the complaint, but emphasized that it is important for people's organizations to be the ones that file the complaint.
"That’s the people's money. It is their taxes being spent. It’s better for the citizens who want to impeach Sara Duterte and the congressmen who will endorse it to unite.," Colmenares said in Filipino.
The party-list aims to file the impeachment complaint before Congress resumes its session in November.