Members of the Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP), along with other militant groups, commemorated the birthday of Andres Bonifacio with a protest rally in the Bacolod City downtown area, yesterday afternoon.

In a statement by BMP President Leody de Guzman, he said the protest is aimed to criticize groups loyal to President Rodrigo Duterte, who were also mobilized yesterday, calling for a “revolutionary government” to move the country towards federalism and open up the economy for more foreign ownership.

De Guzman said, “It is the height of poetic injustice that pro-Duterte groups would commemorate Bonifacio Day by going against ideals that the plebeian hero fought and died for.”

She stated Bonifacio would be “turning in his grave” with such “antics.”

The militant group leader believes their initiatives would ultimately serve the interests of foreign monopolies, warlords, and political dynasties; and feed the lust for wealth and power of the pro-Duterte clique among the ruling elite.

De Guzman said the clamor for charter change by certain factions of the ruling classes has always existed since the administration of former President Fidel V. Ramos, and that it favors the dismantling of protectionist provisions to fully liberalize the economy in order to entice foreign investments.

“This means the recolonization of our country, not through bullets and cannons, but through capital and commodities,” she asserted. “These business interests now hide behind the cloak of federalism, but they know all too well that Duterte’s ‘cha-cha’ would not limit itself to changing political provisions of the 1987 Constitution.”

Using an example put forward by pro-Federalism groups, De Guzman called the claim that taxes and public funds collected from the countryside would benefit the rural poor a “sham.”

“We know all too well that each province and region [is] controlled by warlords and political dynasties that rule over their territories with iron gloves without an iota of respect for due processes of law,” she said.

“A truly revolutionary government means genuine social transformation by dismantling the long-standing rule of the elite,” she added. “The pro-Duterte ‘RevGov’ is its complete opposite.”

Meanwhile, ‘RevGov’ held a general assembly yesterday at the Bacolod Pavillon Hotel, which was led by the groups Rebolusyonaryong Alyansang Makabansa (RAM) and the Guardians Brotherhood Federal, Inc. (GBFI)

“The president cannot declare ‘RevGov’ alone, he has no power and authority,” said Mula Sa Masa DU30 Movement, Inc. Secretary-General George Mapili, who served as guest speaker for the event. “The people’s sovereign will has the power to do so; this was done since 1986.”/DGB, WDJ