The Truth About Ka Satur Ocampo

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 misspend 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. (100ARAW.com)

The author proudly supports Makabayan-NP senatorial candidate Satur Ocampo.