Makabayang Koalisyon ng Mamamayan (Makabayan) senatorial candidate Neri Colmenares takes a few seconds to catch his breath before we begin the interview. No doubt exhausted from another long day of meetings and on-the-ground campaigning, he gulps a quaint glass of water and apologizes for his delay. Yet, neither fatigue nor haste painted his disposition, only his tone of sincere passion cutting through the silence of our Zoom call.
It is clear to me that this third senatorial bid is not just of political bearing for Colmenares; it is out of duty for the misrepresented masses that he continues to fight for a senatorial seat. In minute smiles, his face would light up despite the losses he had garnered back in 2019 and 2016. While a repressive state still looms over his growing support, he refuses to back down from the unequivocal need for a progressive and nationalist senator who will champion pro-people bills in the upper house.
Colmenares is many things—a veteran human rights lawyer, an activist, a Martial Law survivor, and even a seasoned member of Congress—but a title he prides himself on most is that of a public servant, one who is willing to take up the cause of the oppressed as Marcosian politics are yet to leave the halls of the Senate chamber where legislative power is left at the hands of the few.
The Dark is Temporary
While traditional politicians are quick to flock to the ruling party, Neri Javier Colmenares is known to do the opposite, often unafraid to challenge public officials regardless of their position in government. As a frequent petitioner at the Supreme Court, it is no surprise that he grew up in an environment which necessitated the dissent and criticality at the core of his recent petitions against the Anti-Terror Law and Duterte’s militaristic agenda.
Colmenares began confronting the powers that be on the picket lines. In his youth, he fought for the return of student councils and publications. However, at just 18, he and many other young activists faced the brutality of a dictatorial regime that stopped at nothing to silence and detain them. He grimly recalls the torture that transpired in his four gruesome years in prison. The walls would seem narrower each time he was beaten by military men, slowly chipping away at any hope he had to ever see the light of day.
Hailing from an average family, he could not afford to pay for legal services that time. It was only through the joint effort of human rights advocates and lawyers that he finally regained his freedom. This newfound sense of hope inspired his juvenile spirit to pursue a legal profession, and similar to his attorneys, he found a purpose in serving those who are marginalized by society.
“It’s a combination of wanting to make a better future for this country, for the people, and for the next generation of Filipinos,” said Colmenares. From this, he derives a primary principle that he has carried in Congress and will continue to lift in the Senate: “Kung nasa tama ka, tindigan mo. Kung nasa mali ka naman, have the humility to admit your mistakes ... sa oras na nang-abuso ang isang opisyal, wala akong pakialam kung presidente pa siya ng Pilipinas.”
Against the Currents
Colmenares’s youth inculcated in him a tireless resolve which he would bring to Congress, filing bills that were seemingly impossible to pass in a room filled with wealthy politicians detached from the plight of the masses. His position did not separate him from the broader struggle, but rather, helped amplify calls for inclusive legislation, with bills like those on pension increase and the prohibition of political dynasties proving his legislative prowess against the status quo.
Built from the ground up, his persistence manifests in the progressive platforms he has fought for in the elitist setting of Congress. “Paano ka naman susuntok sa buwan, kung hindi ka man lang susuntok diba?” he said, emphasizing that the bills he championed were but practical necessities that were ushered into legislation largely through mass clamor, one step at a time.
Hence, he persevered amid the difficulties that parliamentary struggle posed on the passage of progressive bills. A growing target on his back is a result of strong-willed positions on wage increase, contractualization, and genuine reforms for education and agriculture.
For him, whether it be on the streets or in the Senate, his actions will always be an extension of his commitment to the public. He is not afraid to hold his colleagues accountable and stand for what is right—what is beneficial to the people he serves. He said that fellow legislators can discern this understanding and follow in his initiative similar to the Disaster Alert Law which he authored in favor of the people’s safety, despite how major telecommunication companies detested it.
Following the tragic 2019 midterm election, the government continued to antagonize activists who criticized its repressive actions by allowing the harassment of dissenters with the Anti-Terror Law. In the crackdown of the Left, dissenting figures like Colmenares are the main objects of state-sponsored violence.
Political persecution is not new to Colmenares, but he remains unfazed despite harassment. It is in this critical front that he advocates his committed intentions for sustainable and people-centered development. “Am I afraid of these attacks? Of course, yes, dahil hindi naman ako superhuman na hindi natatakot pero kinakailangan tindigan ko pa rin,” he said with a furrowed brow.
He noted that the general fear of the public has become less apparent, moreso that the indifference of local government officials afraid of Duterte has gradually withered away due to the senselessness of today’s red-tagging. When he speaks against the administration, he observes that trolls are now more disoriented and hesitant to reply with sincerity. While fear remains, many human rights defenders now take up the mantle to protect the integrity of the law and champion the rights of abused Filipinos.
Grassroots Trumps Gold
With Vice President Leni Robredo’s support and popularity, candidates like Colmenares are given an opportunity to augment their calls in gargantuan pink rallies. Yet, the momentum of the Leni-Kiko tandem faces that of the children of dictators trying to reclaim and preserve oligarchic power. In comparison to the unified opposition, these traditional politicians wield a larger base of power and wealth to effortlessly distort the media and, most disturbingly, history itself.
Colmenares sighs at this remark: “Mga manggagawa rin yan, mga magsasaka rin yan, mga urban poor din yan na nahihirapan sa mataas na presyo ng bilihin at mababang sahod,” he said, in reference to Marcos-Duterte supporters who have become enamored by the Marcoses’ deceptive social media messaging centered on a homogenizing kind of unity and a common desire for change.
The lawyer does not fault the movement nor the people in this regard because it is the government itself that has allowed the return of a fascist regime by refusing to teach the succeeding generations about the injustices that occurred during Martial Law. This directly resulted in the systemic impunity preserved by Marcosian architects who have remained in the government, able to commit crimes and get away with them because their constituents are left in the dark.
With a dejected expression, Colmenares told me that we can only do so much to counter false narratives and expose the Marcoses because of their strong political machinery commandeered from shadowy networks of wealth and power. Should he be elected, he aspires to challenge this lack of accountability through the oversight and investigation functions of the Senate, which will help look into public officials and pull them down from their ivory towers.
Moving forward, I asked him about our role in challenging an administration resistant to change and he replied with certainty that all stakeholders have a hand in the broader overhaul of the entire justice system. It is necessary for legislative power to return to its constituents because even when demands seem impossible to pass in the Senate, Colmenares attests that strong clamor from outside both houses is capable of turning the tables.
Passionately, he then highlights the importance of human rights lawyers in the Senate. The government will only be a hospitable arena for human rights if the poor and marginalized are well-represented by candidates who do not only forward pro-people platforms but also possess a track record of fighting for their constituents’ demands and an unwavering willingness to defend the interests of the masses—with or without the promise of elections.
May 9, 2022 is no doubt a vital date that will forecast the future of our country for the coming six years. How much will elections truly change the course of the Philippines? He reaffirms what I, too, believe: the elections are not the panacea to the systemic issues of the government but nonetheless a worthy start to the social reforms that will foster genuine representation and change in Philippine legislation. ●
