Tricycle drivers of La Paz, Tarlac are for Ka Satur. Photo by satur4senator.com.
The election season has deteriorated into a mudslinging fiesta. Ka Satur Ocampo, who is running as a guest senatorial candidate of the Nacionalista Party, is on the receiving end of serious accusations.
There are others who wish to give Ka Satur a second look and would wish to ask honest questions but are smothered by the accusations that flood the airwaves and the internet.
Let’s take a close look at some of these accusations:
1. Is Ka Satur a senior leader of the Communist Party of the Philippines?
No. This accusation is not new. This was the reason why Ka Satur was arrested, prosecuted and detained under the Marcos, Aquino and Arroyo administrations. That Ka Satur is now free is proof that these governments have failed to prove their charges.
Consider these: Under the Marcos and Arroyo administrations, all the resources of government were directed to pin down Ka Satur. Marcos’ martial law and Arroyo’s state of emergency further empowered government to prosecute their supposed enemies but they failed to prove the cases of rebellion and multiple murder – premised as they were that Ka Satur was a senior leader of the CPP and was thus in a position to commit or authorize the commission of various crimes.
In July 2007, the Supreme Court dismissed the last rebellion charge against Ka Satur and the rest of the so-called Batasan 6. In its decision, the court admonished the Department of Justice for allowing its prosecutors to be used for partisan political purposes.
2. Did Ka Satur misspent his congressional pork barrel? Did he redirect pork barrel to the New People’s Army?
No. Again, this was part of claims made by the government in the rebellion case against the Batasan 6. The case has been dismissed.
In fact, President Arroyo has long denied Ka Satur and other partylist representatives their pork barrel allocations perhaps due to their strong and consistent opposition to the administration.
All pork barrel allocations are audited by the Commission on Audit. Ka Satur faces no administrative, civil or criminal case concerning the pork barrel funds his office received from 2001 to 2004.
Disqualification cases against Bayan Muna and Ka Satur were filed before the Comelec in 2001, 2004 and 2007. All were dismissed for lack of merit or lack of evidence.
3. Did Ka Satur commit a sell-out in being a guest candidate of the Nacionalista Party, a major traditional political party?
No. When Ka Satur and fellow Makabayan senatorial candidate Liza Maza announced their guest candidacy in the NP, the two activist leaders made clear that it was the fruit of a mutual adoption of platforms. Makabayan submitted its platform during earnest talks with the NP, while NP, through its president, Manny Villar, responded with the document “In Response to the People’s Concerns”.
Other pundits have pointed out that Makabayan’s role in the NP slate is a signal achievement in the cause of the Left’s participation in national politics.
4. By joining the NP senatorial slate as a guest candidate, is Ka Satur also endorsing fellow NP bet Bongbong Marcos?
No. In fact, Ka Satur and Liza Maza publicly stated that they would never and has never campaigned for Marcos.
The Marcos issue is a serious one for Ka Satur, who was incarcerated and tortured under the dictatorship.
When Marcos’ Kilusang Bagong Lipunan and the NP announced a coalition in the middle of Makabayan-NP talks, Makabayan forcefully walked out of the negotiations and condemned the KBL-NP coalition. The talks only resumed after the collapse of the NP-KBL coalition.
As guest candidates, Ka Satur and Liza Maza cannot demand the removal of Marcos from the NP slate. They however have been assured by Villar that under a Villar presidency, he will ensure that long-denied justice and compensation would finally be brought for the human rights victims of the Marcos dictatorship.
5. Why did Ka Satur not endorse or join Noynoy Aquino and the Liberal Party?
As a respected opposition leader, Ka Satur called on all opposition parties and groups to try to form a united opposition slate. Makabayan sought out all major parties calling for a broad coalition.
Unfortunately, the Aquino camp and the LP were disinterested in even meeting with Ka Satur and the Makabayan coalition. When the meeting between Aquino and Ka Satur finally pushed through, the LP standard-bearer was non-committal and showed disinterest in working with activists. There were also reports that certain power blocs and personalities within the Aquino camp and the LP were “allergic” to Ka Satur and the Makabayan coalition, specifically the anti-Left and anti-communist elements.
6. Has anything changed in Ka Satur’s platform since joining the NP as a guest senatorial candidate?
No. Ka Satur remains strongly committed to being the Senator of the marginalized and underrepresented sectors of the country, to championing the causes of genuine agrarian reform, national industrialization, a just and lasting peace, an independent foreign policy and a government that respects and upholds the fundamental rights of Filipinos.
The author proudly supports Makabayan-NP senatorial candidate Satur Ocampo.
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This post was mentioned on Twitter by 100ARAW: Today on 100ARAW.com: Two dueling posts on Satur Ocampo http://ow.ly/1C7Kb and http://ow.ly/1C7Km...
Straightfoward replies to common questions asked about Satur by those who are afraid of the “left”.
Well said, Tonyo. I hope this will give those who doubt SO’s integrity a clearer and more enlightened perspective about him. Thank you!
If Villar has assured Ka Satur, whom I will still vote for the Senate anyways, that the victims of injustice by the Marcos dictatorship be compensated and justice finally served to them, in what position does it put Bongbong Marcos in?
It’s just simply ironic.
Jhay, AFAIK, Manny Villar did not commit to exculpate the Marcoses.
“As guest candidates, Ka Satur and Liza Maza cannot demand the removal of Marcos from the NP slate. They however have been assured by Villar that under a Villar presidency, he will ensure that long-denied justice and compensation would finally be brought for the human rights victims of the Marcos dictatorship.”
But they could have chosen not to join the NP slate…while Satur was fighting till the last drop of his blood to topple down the regime of Marcos not giving in to any kind of persuasion, physical harassment and mental and emotional tortures…he found it very difficult to saying no and choosing not to join the slate where an unrepentant and proud Marcos is his seatmate.
Elmot/Gerson: That’s water under the bridge. Ka Satur et al have forged a principled agreement with Villar. Marcos is incidental. To be fair, I think we should also ask Marcos why he is allowing himself to be in the same slate as Ka Satur.
It is perhaps ideal for some that Ka Satur would have been better off as an independent candidate. But something better happened: A major political party adopted him and his platform. I think we should also appreciate it as such. The fear that there was a “political barter trade” is wanting in evidence.
With due respect to everyone, I would rather want to see Ka Satur running as an independent than see him coalesced with a party that said yes to support the platform of Bongbong Marcos’ KBL and at the same time said yes to pursue the platform of Makabayan. That is very visibly very ironic.
I believe Marcos and their atrocities are not incidental and will never be whether election day or not; but rather a big issue especially on this particular discussion with the more principled man expected to never negotiate and waver, that is why for me, it is of no use to ask an unrepentant Marcos why is he in NP…the obvious answer there is for him to win.
If there is any truth to this article:
http://www.philstar.com/ArticlePrinterFriendly.aspx?articleId=569278
“However, Gonzales reportedly got an assurance from Villar that Ocampo and Maza will not win in the May 10 elections.”
“then it should shed some light on the NP’s movives for bringing them in. I am hoping that Mr. Ocampo is totally ignorant of this because I was also personally disappointed by his joining NP’s slate.
As already expressed in several sentiments above, I believe it was a serious lapse in judgment on his part and will hurt him more than it will help. Whatever similirities his platform may have to the NP’s (with which he has tried to defend his action), his first and foremost responsibility was to his moral code and he should have stuck to that.
Well, the story seems to follow the LP’s chismis-powered Villaroyo line of attack.
I think Ka Satur by joining the NP slate has consider all the possibilities that decision may affect him. The alliance made by the MAKABAYAN coalition with the NP does not only involve the “how and why” both parties had agreed on, it is also a tactical alliance in order to advance the people’s struggle for change.
As for the issue on moral obligation, the decision made by Ka Satur and the MAKABAYAN was not for themselves but for the people. It is, i think the most morally sane decision made by Ka Satur. I remember Slavoj Zizek wrote that real love could only be expressed when you transgress the one you truly love. All these things done by Ka Satur are not for himself but for the people. A character that all leaders must posses.
AQUINORROYO – Relatives under the GMA Administration:
Margarita Cojuangco – Interior and Local Government Undersecretary , who heads the Philippine Public Safety College.
Secretary Tessie Aquino Oreta – who heads the Early Childhood Care and Development Council.
Lupita Aquino-Kashiwahara – President Arroyo’s image consultant.
Eleazar Quinto, a son-in-law of Kashiwahara – Former environment secretary, is currently the director general of the Presidential Coalition Affairs Office under the Office of the President.
Paul Aquino – was the CEO of Energy Development Corp. before it was privatized in 2007. It used to be a subsidiary of the state firm Philippine National Oil Co. is now the chief political officer in Noynoy’s campaign.
LP HAS DONE NOTHING BUT SPREAD LIES!
I BELIEVE IN KA SATUR, INDEPENDENT OR IN A PARTY, KA SATUR WILL ALWAYS STAND BY HIS PRINCIPLES!
Please find time to read about hacienda luisita:
PART 1 http://www.gmanews.tv/story/181877/hacienda-luisitas-past-haunts-noynoys-future
PART 2 http://www.gmanews.tv/story/182195/corys-land-reform-legacy-to-test-noynoys-political-will
PART 3 http://www.gmanews.tv/story/182515/how-a-workers-strike-became-the-luisita-massacre
PART 4 http://www.gmanews.tv/story/183662/after-luisita-massacre-more-killings-linked-to-protest
Regarding Ka Satur’s joining the NP slate, initially I had some qualms about that. My personal choice for pres. at that time was not Manny villar. But then I remembered that its not about individual preferences. The Makabayan leadership made the choice after serious reflection and discernment and now we have to tow the party line. Our strength lies in our collective involvement in the fight for better futures. Vote for Satur and Liza no matter what they say or do and get your family and friends to do the same.
[...] No. Ka Satur remains strongly committed to being the Senator of the marginalized and underrepresented sectors of the country, to championing the causes of genuine agrarian reform, national industrialization, a just and lasting peace, an independent foreign policy and a government that respects and upholds the fundamental rights of Filipinos. (100ARAW.com) [...]
That Satur Ocampo and Liza Maza are allies of Jose Maria Sison is not something only ANAD believes in. Activists and former activists know so. That’s the reason the Liberal Party would just rather have Risa Hontiveros. Akbayan’s activism does not involve armed struggle. We need legislators who will represent the “marginalized and underrepresented” sectors without any communist agenda, without links to the architects and foremen of decades-long bloodshed, extortion and deception.
The left that is represented by Satur will lose a lot of support because of this alliance. Trapos won’t support Satur. Those who will support him will be turned away, unless they follow the party line without question. Satur says those who accuse him of selling out don’t personally know him. You mean you can tell the honesty or corruption of a politician by knowing him personally and not by his actions? Revolutionary turned trapo is a sad sight to behold. Palparan looks more dignified and honest.
Clearly the Liberal Party is in a natural alliance with the likes of Palparan in harping about the Ocampo-CPP-NPA line. So the reasoning that the LP would prefer bedroom-voice Hontiveros is suspect. To engage in such divisive behavior in the general opposition speaks of the LP and Akbayan’s self-interest.
As for the reasoning that Akbayan represents the marginalized and underrepresented, such is a joke that speaks of their treacherous opportunism. Especially with their deception of farmers in their fake land reform schemes.
These fake progressives should stop imbibing ignorance on such issues as the Philippine revolution and the peace talks. To capitalize is a silly attempt to cloud over the fact that the LP and Akbayan can’t engage in a discourse on principle and platform, and instead focus on negative campaigning.
I think it was the National Democrats, in support of Villar, who are engaged in negative campaigning, with too much weight given to the culpability of Noynoy in the Hacienda Luisita case. The public is not biting. It is correct to say that the Liberal Party is obviously peopled by anti-communist elements. This is the tragedy of Satur Ocampo. He made the anti-communist elements look more progressive than him because he aligned with Villar. As to negative campaigning as a whole, it is also easy to show that when Villar’s popularity began to dip, all sorts of stories and attacks such as Topak, Hacienda Luisita, etc. began to surface with incredible venom. I am not here to defend the Liberal Party. It is part of the old that refuses to die, as Elmer Ordonez would put it, paraphrasing Yeats. It is to point out that we must see Ocampo for what he has become, a tragic figure of the revolutionary movement turned spokesman for Vista Land.
Ganito kasi. Noong una, sinubukan nina Ocampo and Maza na sumama sa kampo ni Aquino the oligarch. Dahil ayaw sa kanila ni Abnoy, nakipagsiping sila kay Villar the bureaucrat-capitalist, na nakikipagsiping naman kay Bongbong the Marcos scion.
Kahit may palusot pa na hindi nila sinusuportahan si Bongbong, sinusuportahan naman nila ang isang sumusuporta kay Bongbong. Ganoon din ang epekto. Mabuti pa nga si Abnoy, reactionary kung reactionary, pero nagpapakatotoo.
Huwag nang niloloko pa ang mga botante. Nakakahiya sina Ocampo at Maza sa lahat ng makakaliwa. Ang tawag sa kanila, promiscuous, hindi progressive! Pera lang ni Villar ang katapat.
[...] shown by this article by online election watchdog group 100araw.com, such accusations against Ocampo, Maza, et.al have [...]
What is more tragic than having no good presidentiable to choose from is the ignorance of many of us of our history as a people. What do you expect from the elections, anyway? But I’d rather have Satur Ocampo and Lisa Maza in the Senate than Bong Revilla and Lito Lapid! Nagagalit kayo kay Satur dahil nakipag-alyansa sa NP (na kung tutuusin ay reasonable naman) pero di nyo masipat ang iba pang isyung bumabalot sa halalang alam naman nating dominated ng mga elitista.