Bayan Muna, Liza Maza launch campaign for House, Senate seats in Cagayan de Oro

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Former Bayan Muna representative Carlos Zarate says they chose Cagayan de Oro as their launching pad for their campaign to send a political message that the group 'is alive and well in Mindanao'

CAGAYAN DE ORO, Philippines – Progressive party-list group Bayan Muna launched its campaign for seats in the House of Representatives with senatorial candidate Liza Maza in Cagayan de Oro on Tuesday, February 11.

Former Bayan Muna representative Carlos Zarate said they chose Cagayan de Oro as their launching pad for their campaign to send a political message that the party-list group “is alive and well in Mindanao.”

Some 300 Bayan Muna leaders from various regions in Mindanao came for the launch.

Zarate also pointed out that Cagayan de Oro is an “EDCA site.”

EDCA, or the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, is a 2014 security pact between the Philippines and the US, which allows American forces to build facilities, pre-position equipment, and conduct rotational deployments in Philippine military bases. 

The old Cagayan de Oro airport in Barangay Lumbia has been turned into a Philippine Air Force base, and it is where US military facilities are allowed. The government has also announced plans to allow US forces to put up EDCA facilities in neighboring Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental.

Maza, a former Bayan Muna and later Gabriela party-list representative, criticized the presence of US military forces in Mindanao, under the EDCA, asserting that their presence serves American interests at the expense of the Philippines’ development.

“As long as US troops are here, our people’s development will be sidelined,” she said, calling for a shift towards an independent foreign policy focused on Philippine interests.

Maza and Bayan Muna leaders also spoke against the present state of the country’s political and economic systems, which they said, benefit the elite and foreigners while leaving many Filipinos in poverty. Maza called such systems “rotten.”

During the launch, they visited local markets and impoverished communities in Cagayan de Oro to interact with residents and tackle Mindanao’s economic struggles. 

“In the markets, I heard firsthand the struggles of ordinary people. The poverty here is heartbreaking. This region has the lowest wages and the highest cost of living,” Maza said. “Mindanao is rich, the country is rich. But why are millions suffering while only a few benefit from the wealth?” 

Zarate emphasized the urgency of addressing the growing gap between wages and the cost of living. 

“Mindanao workers face rising costs with stagnant wages,” Zarate said. 

Data shows the daily minimum wage in Mindanao ranges from P350 to P396, while a family of five needs over P1,100 a day for basic needs.

Another former Bayan Muna representative, Eufemia Cullamat, criticized the government for prioritizing luxury projects instead of addressing immediate needs like rising costs.

The group has pledged to push for price controls and reforms to protect low-income families and promote economic justice. – Rappler.com