Jevilyn Cullamat's killing not evidence of Makabayan link to Reds —Zarate

Bayan Muna party-list Representative Carlos Zarate on Monday said the killing of a daughter of fellow Bayan Muna party-list Representative Eufemia Cullamat in an encounter with the military is not evidence that would link the Makabayan Bloc to communist rebels.

Zarate made the remark after Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said that linking the Makabayan Bloc to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) now has a basis following the killing of Jevilyn Cullamat, allegedly a medic of the New People's Army (NPA).

In an interview with reporters, Zarate said he and his fellow Makabayan lawmakers are already bracing for this "propaganda" of the military to intensify the red-tagging and terrorist-tagging against them.

"Pinaghahandaan namin yun dahil palalabasin na naman nila, sasabihin na naman nila kahit walang basehan na ito nga ay ebidensya na kami ay prente ng underground movement," he said.

"[This is] despite the fact na for several instances now, nagkaroon na ng mga pagdinig kahit sa Senado ay wala namang matibay na ebidensya na nailatag ang kanilang perjured and paid witnesses."

Zarate himself already denied during a Senate hearing last week that he is a member of the CPP as he denounced the military's red-tagging of the Makabayan Bloc.

What the killing of Jevilyn only showed, Zarate said, is the need for the government to look into the root causes of the decades-old armed conflict: extreme poverty, exploitation, and human rights violations.

"Dapat isa ito sa mga maging dahilan na pag-isipan natin na i-resume ang nahintong usapang pangkapayapaan at bigyan ng solusyon yung ugat bakit ba marami pa rin sa ating mga kababayan na lumalahok sa armadong rebelyon," he said.

"Ito yung mga kondisyon na dapat titignan natin nang maigi. Hindi itong reckless red-tagging, terrorist-tagging na ginawa ngayon," Zarate added.

For now, Zarate said Jevilyn's remains are already with her family and they are preparing to give her a proper funeral.

Representative Cullamat, for her part, said she was not surprised that her daughter joined the NPA because she saw and experienced the "abuses" of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

She believes that the death of her daughter could embolden the military to "spread lies" against Bayan Muna and the Makabayan Bloc. —KBK, GMA News