The Left’s Take On the Villarroyo Issue

Posted on May 1, 2010 08:36:37 PM

The current election period showed some cracks among the so-called solid left bloc in the House of Representatives. Bayan Muna representative Satur Ocampo and Gabriela representative Lisa Masa are guest senatorial candidates of Villar’s Nationalista Party, while Akbayan’s Risa Hontiveros is running for a seat in the Senate under the Liberal Party headed by Noynoy Aquino. All of them supported impeachment complaints against the president, and all opposed any move to change the Charter. However, their coalition was not a bed of roses and cracks are now shown in this election period.

In an interview, Ocampo noted that Hontiveros was the one who coined the term villarroyo but in her reply, she claims that the word came from an online chat room and said that Ocampo was delusional. She added that Villar never called for the resignation of Arroyo and it was only Noynoy who vowed to go after the Arroyos if he wins. Ocampo on the other hand insisted that the rumors were false charges and were mouthed out by Hontiveros.

Some commentators may dismiss the exchange of words as a catfight of the left, but the crack between the two leftist groups is quite deep. The National Democratic Movement of the 90s was split into two; the first group is known as the “affirmist” camp with Ocampo as a member and Bayan Muna as an offshoot, and the second group or the rejectionist camp is where Akbayan emerges from. Ocampo like Villar came from a poor family and he has denounced his old Red allegiance. Hontiveros like Noynoy came from a rich family and she even graduated from Ateneo de Manila University, one of the most expensive schools in the country. In other words, she came from the rich elite who make a move to the left. Well-known revolutionaries came from rich families; Karl Marx, Mao (son of grain dealer), and Castro (son of a landowner). I am not implying that she should not be trusted, but I just want to point out her dangerous tendency. Thus, when looking at the villar arroyo issue, I invite my readers to check the person mouthing first.