Makabayan Coalition welcomes the overwhelming victory of Mayor Rodrigo Duterte in the May 9 presidential election. We recognize such victory as an expression of popular outrage over and rejection of the regime of “daang matuwid” and a cry for sweeping change in the elitist and anti-people system.
We are encouraged by his pro-people and pro-poor policy pronouncements on a number of issues, including the immediate resumption of peace talks with the National Democratic Front and the release of detained peace consultants and political prisoners; putting an end to labor contractualization; increasing support to farmers and prioritizing education, health, food aid and other essential services over big infrastructure projects in the light of mass poverty and hunger. Makabayan pledges its full support for the fulfillment of the said promises.
At the same time, we challenge the incoming Duterte administration to immediately hold responsible outgoing President Aquino, DBM Secretary Abad and other officials for the illegal and graft-ridden Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) and the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) for the circumvention of the Supreme Court ruling against the pork barrel system and for all the anomalous transactions they entered into.Aquino and other responsible officials must also be held to account for the Mamasapano carnage and the killing and maiming of protesting farmers in Kidapawan.
Furthermore, we challenge incoming President Duterte to repudiate the neoliberal economic policies pursued by previous administrations that have failed to bring about real development and prosperity to our people and perpetuated gross social inequality, Instead we urge him to implement an economic development program anchored on national industrialization (to create increasing numbers of regular jobs) and on modernization of agriculture through genuine agrarian reform that would create varied agri-based rural industries. Only then can it be said that change, indeed, is coming.
Satur Ocampo, President
Liza Maza, Co-Chairperson
Rafael Mariano, Co-Chairperson
