A TALE OF TWO LEFTISTS

It’s very rare that we get a glimpse of what life in the left is. After all, the left has been a difficult position to assume in a country where the political spectrum is typically to the right, if not center. But with the inception of the party-list system in Congress, the left slowly became a comfortable and more acceptable position in politics. Little do we know how segmented such a front is and only a few from outside their circle really knew the divisions that lurk within their ranks. Such divide grew ever more evident last Friday, during Anthony Taberna’s Punto por Punto segment in ABS-CBN’s Umagang Kay Ganda, where Akbayan Representative Walden Bello and Anakbayan Chairperson Vencer Crisostomo were guests.

The segment focused on the issue of whether the COMELEC should disqualify Akbayan as a party-list group. Perhaps ignited by the dramatic split between the National Democrats and Social Democrats in the `90s, Vencer Crisostomo just went on a temper tantrum. He didn't give a damn that he was on national television sitting beside a respected UP professor and accomplished writer of social critiques. He argued that Akbayan must be disqualified as it no longer represented the marginalized due to the position of power they now have as allies of the current administration. He even went to commit a number of argumentum ad hominems such as lambasting Presidential Adviser for Political Affairs Ronald Llamas for his AK-47 and Pirated DVD Shopping Spree incident. As if one rotten tomato would make the whole basket of tomatoes rotten as well.

To his party's defense, Congressman Bello touted Akbayan's achievements in pursuing the agenda of the marginalized especially in passed bills such as the CARPER Law, Security of Tenure Act, Balanced Housing Act, and the Reproductive Health Bill. He stated in a matter-of-factly way that Anakbayan and its allies in the Makabayan Coalition in Congress are merely envious of Akbayan's success in floating the concerns of the marginalized to the surface. To which Vencer Crisostomo hurled another ad hominem, saying that the member of Akbayan are suck ups to the government.

The exchange of tirades left disappointing impressions on me and perhaps to the rest of the viewing public about what kind of leftist politicians we have. But perhaps, the most disappointing impression was that of the extreme left, the National Democrats or Makabayan Coalition's dirty and sly tactics of besmirching a reputable party's name. To think that they even call themselves progressives. Crisostomo's actions does not constitute progressive thought at all but rather an outright black propaganda to discredit a leftist faction they have long branded as "cowards" and "traitors" to their revolutionary, communist agenda. By calling Akbayan a suck up, Crisostomo should look into his own party first when it sucked up to a wealthy businessman/presidential candidate in 2010 (who was by the way, also allied with now Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr.) in hopes of winning a seat in the Senate.

With these two leftist parties at odds over party-list dominance,
what impression does it leave us about the Left?

To put themselves in a position where we could better represent the marginalized: isn't this what any party-list group should do in the first place? By finding the right allies in Congress and in government, Akbayan has succeeded in putting the agenda of the marginalized on the table and not on the streets. By having access to a wealth of state funds, Akbayan is in a better position to provide the marginalized with the social services and basic rights previously denied to them. By being in government, Akbayan is in a strategic position to uphold and defend the rights of the marginalized, even if it means disagreeing with the Aquino Administration on certain issues. This is something the Makabayan Coalition cannot and will not do. Or a least, they tried to do in 2010 but only to lose to Akbayan. It must have been too ironic for them that they still feel the angst and the bitterness which now let loose on live television.

Had Crisostomo focused on finding loopholes in Akbayan's track record of governance and social service, he would've impressed the audience more positively. What he seemed to have only pleased were his fellow party members who were quick to rubber stamp his statements in social media by resorting to apologetics. As if it would compensate for the ad hominems he committed.

Which brings me to question their ranks: Where were they during the height of China's aggression in the West Philippine Sea? Where were they during national calamities, when thousands were in deplorable conditions brought about by recent typhoons? Where were they when we needed a voice in support of the Reproductive Health Bill and Freedom of Information Bill? Where were they when we needed a balanced, issue-based approach in protesting the Cybercrime Prevention Law?

Have they even thought of sponsoring a housing project for the thousands of informer settlers whom they love to cuddle with during heated demolitions around the Metro? Have they even thought of working with any government to advance the position of the poor masses they represent? No. They will never think of it. For the extreme left, their dreams of a grand communist revolution is still so brazen they'll will stop at nothing to convince any feeble-minded person that such violent revolution is what we need to change things. That a democratic approach is a sham and an illusion dominated by elitists.

And now that somebody from the left has actually proven that a democratic approach works, they cry foul. This cry, folks, is the sound of jealousy running high in the veins of the extreme left. TSS