đź“·: Kabataan Partylist Rep. Renee Co
By Renato Reyes Jr. | President, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan)
When Makabayan representatives voluntarily released their SALNs last week, many were surprised with the very low net worth of Rep. Renee Co, a mere P280,000. It’s so small that the media asked if she was still living with her parents. The public query on her net worth is reminiscent of what one former lawmaker, who happens to be among the richest in the House, described as the “unexplained poverty” of the Makabayan reps. While rich and powerful lawmakers try their best to explain their net worth and avoid being tagged for “unexplained wealth”, here were the Makabayan reps with such low net worth declarations it boggled the minds of the ruling elite and the political establishment.
When former Anakpawis representative Crispin “Ka Bel” Beltran died from an accident, his colleagues in the House could not believe that a veteran lawmaker would be going up the roof of his house to fix the leak.
People ask, why is Co’s net worth so small when she earns a six-digit salary as a member of Congress. Former KPL representative Sarah Elago was also asked the same during her term. It has been the practice of Makabayan lawmakers not to get their entire salaries for themselves. Our progressive lawmakers operate on what is the equivalent of a minimum wage (which is not even a living wage). The rest of their salary goes to the staff, full-time organizers and activities of the partylist. It has been this way ever since. It proves that one can be an effective lawmaker even without the high salary and the perks.
This principle is not new. During the Paris Commune of 1871, the revolutionary workers upheld the policy that public servants, from the leading Commune down the line, will be paid a “workman’s wage”. Marx said “The vested interests and the representation allowances of the high dignitaries of state disappeared along with the high dignitaries themselves. Public functions ceased to be the private property of the tools of the Central Government. Not only municipal administration, but the whole initiative hitherto exercised by the state was laid into the hands of the Commune.”
Imagine Congress with workers, farmers, teachers, indigenous peoples, working peoples, crafting laws and receiving what ordinary workers receive. They view their work primarily as service to the people, not a means for personal gain. There is no incentive or basis for corruption. In terms of compensation, their work of crafting laws will be no different from the work done by other working people. The lawmakers will no longer be a special class of bureaucrats but will be real public servants. Government as service, not a means to get rich.
This is the kind of government Makabayan and various progressive groups are fighting for. It is the kind of government we deserve. We believe it is possible, if we are able to change the rotten system and fight for a better world where people’s needs, not profits, are at the forefront.
