Kabataan Partylist on Sunday, June 7, condemned the Cayetano-bloc’s Senate Blue Ribbon hearing, stating that it “has once again been used as a platform for political attacks, manufactured narratives, and baseless accusations against former Makabayan representatives.”
The allegations raised by the so-called “18 Marines” against former ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro, former Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Arlene Brosas, and former Kabataan Partylist Rep. Raoul Manuel are “scripted, patently false, and devoid of credible evidence,” Florence Guzon, Kabataan Partylist Vice President for Visayas, said in a press statement.
“Rather than presenting verifiable facts, the hearing has been dominated by speculation, insinuations, and recycled accusations that have repeatedly failed to withstand public scrutiny,” Guzon said.
“The inconsistencies in the testimonies themselves reveal the political character of these accusations. Narratives conveniently change depending on the prevailing political situation, while names are added or removed according to the needs of those orchestrating the attacks,” Guzon pointed out.
“Such developments expose the hearing for what it is: not a genuine search for truth, but a desperate attempt to malign progressive forces that have consistently championed the interests of workers, peasants, youth, women, and other marginalized sectors,” Guzon added.
The timing of these accusations is likewise highly suspicious, according to the youth party-list official.
“As the impeachment process involving Vice President Sara Duterte remains a central issue in national politics, efforts to generate sensational controversies appear designed to shift public attention away from questions of accountability. At the same time, these developments cannot be divorced from the broader conflict between the Marcos and Duterte factions, both of which are engaged in an intense struggle for political power and influence,” Guzon said.*
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