Naglabas ng opisyal na pahayag ang isang umano'y dating rebelde at minsang nagsilbing chairperson ng Gabriela-UP Mindanao at kalihim ng NPA Guerrilla Front 55, laban kay Kabataan Party-list Representative Atty. Renee Co matapos lumabas ang mga ulat na nasa ₱280,000 lamang ang net worth o kabuuan ng kaniyang mga ari-arian sa kaniyang pinakahuling Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN).
Nag-react ang nabanggit na dating rebelde na si Arian Jane Ramos, batay sa ulat ng ABS-CBN News noong Oktubre 21, kung saan sinasabing nakatira pa rin si Co sa poder ng mga magulang at nagdeklara lamang ng ₱280,000 na kabuuang ari-arian sa kaniyang SALN.
Oktubre 23, muling nag-post si Co sa Facebook patungkol sa nabanggit na halaga ng kaniyang SALN. Ibinahagi rin ito sa opisyal na Facebook page ng Kabataan Partylist.
Mababasa sa post niya, "₱280,000 net worth as a lawyer-legislator? Let me share the principle behind it."
Middle forces, Marcos bloc kailangang magkaisa para 'di manalo Duterte bloc sa 2028—Antonio Trillanes
"Last Saturday, I was invited as the keynote speaker to the 7th Congress of the National Union of Peoples' Lawyers on its 18th year. Nakakapressure! 22 months pa lang ako na abogado at wala pang 4 months na mambabatas, pero dapat magbigay ako somehow ng inspiring message sa 100+ veteran lawyers and allies na may ilang dekada nang karanasan, sanay sa init ng laban sa loob ng korte at labas ng kalsada, at marami nang isinakripisyo basta mapanindigan ang prinsipyo."
"Rather than address them as a new lawyer or legislator, nangausap ako bilang 27-year-old youth. Kako: we want to fight. Habang nag-aaral, nag-oorganisa, at nag-iipon ng lakas ang kabataan, tuloy-tuloy sanang tulungan at protektahan kami ng mga abogado ng bayan. Ayon nga kay Dean Tony to angry youth: 'do what you will have to do. We will defend you.'
"Alam ko ang tinalikuran na buhay ng mga taga-NUPL para depensahan kami at iba pang mga sektor na inaapi. Walang kickbacks, shares of stock, or corporate premiums na reward sa mabilisang pagresponde para palayain ang na-mass arrest noong September 21 anti-corruption protests."
"There are no six-figure bonuses in staring down the barrel of a gun of police and military agents sa pagharang ng land-grabbing from farmers, destructive mining operations against indigenous peoples, reclamation laban sa mangingisda, at iba pa."
"For campaigns advocating for benefits to society that will outlive the lawyers, maraming beses mag-aabono sila. Sometimes, the price paid is their own lives."
"NUPL founder Atty. Romy Capulong said: 'Be the best lawyer money cannot buy.' Thousands of lawyers heeded his call, at isa ako ‘dun. Baon ko ang mga salita niya noong naging kongresista ako ng sektor ng Kabataan. Walang kinang ng ginto ang makakabulag sa prinsipyo at hangarin naming ipagsilbi ang batas sa taumbayan."
Paliwanag pa ni Co, talagang isinasabuhay niya ang nakasaad sa batas na kapag opisyal ng pamahalaan, kailangang "modest" at simple lamang ang pamumuhay.
"It is why I gave up a comfortable future as a traditional lawyer to be a full-time activist. It is why I live a simple life, independently and supporting myself, and direct all my time, energy, and resources to serve campaigns for the people’s welfare."
"I am forever grateful to my parents who supported my education and endeavors sa hangarin na maging komportable buhay naming magkakapatid. I hope I make them feel proud in my choice to live a life not of comfort, but of struggle — in which I live not merely for my survival but to uplift others and help create a better world for all."
"I am working to imagine a societal order where wealth is not a determinant of success. A world where supposed high-ranking elective officials like me having 280,000 pesos to my name is common sense."
"To add: tama naman na may expectation na hindi dapat mayaman ang public officials, pero bakit patuloy pa rin ang pagpuri natin sa mga nasa private sector na nakakapag-imbak ng malaki-laking yaman? Bureaucrat capitalism doesn’t operate only in government; rather, billionaires use the government machinery to advance their own interest sa pagkamal ng limpak-limpak na kita."
Kaya hamon ni Co sa mga kapwa opisyal ng pamahalaan, "I reiterate the challenge of Makabayan: all officials of government, voluntarily release your SALN to the public! Hindi po mahirap ipost sa page ang document. Kung nasusunod naman ang Section 4(h) of RA 6713 on simple living as part of the public officials’ code of conduct, walang dapat ikahiya."
"Let the public scrutinize. Let the youth take charge of our future," aniya pa.
ANG PAGBATIKOS NI RAMOS LABAN SA SALN NI CO
Sa isang Facebook post na mabilis na kumalat online, binatikos ni Ramos ang tinawag niyang "myth" sa modest living na umano'y sinasabi ni Co.
Ayon kay Ramos, dapat umanong masusing suriin ng publiko ang mga pahayag ng mga progresibong grupo na madalas magpakita ng imahe ng pagiging simple at malinis, ngunit may mga isyung hindi umano ipinapaliwanag nang buo sa mamamayan.
May pamagat ang kaniyang Facebook post noong Oktubre 23 na "Behind Renee Co's Low SALN Lies the CPP's Laundering Machine."
"Spare us the Paris Commune cosplay. We are not buying the myth of Makabayan lawmakers as martyrs of the minimum wage. Behind the façade of “modest living” lies a Party apparatus that thrives on collective resources, not charity," aniya.
Ipinaliwanag ni Ramos na ang Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) ay may revolutionary financial system na namamahala sa mga yaman ng mga kasapi nito, kabilang na ang mga nasa posisyong pampubliko.
"Let us call it what it is: a 'revolutionary” finance system, institutionalized in black and white under the Communist Party of the Philippines Constitution and Program of 2016. Article XI: Party Finances and Resources states that the Party sustains itself through “membership fees, monthly dues, productive undertakings, special assessments, shares in income and inheritance, unconditional contributions, and fundraising campaigns.”
"And here’s the kicker. Section 5 clearly states that “Party members who hold position made possible by the Party shall receive an amount determined by the Party according to regulations and the necessities of the members and their family dependents."
Photo courtesy: Screenshot from Arian Jane Ramos/FB
Kaya giit ni Ramos, malaki umano ang posibilidad na ang malaking bahagi ng sahod at benepisyo ni Co bilang kongresista ay ibinabalik sa Partido, na siyang nagpapasya kung paano hahatiin at ipamamahagi ang pondo alinsunod sa mga panloob nitong patakaran.
"Renee Co’s position as a party-list representative is not merely a public post. It is a strategic placement by the Communist Party of the Philippines. As a CPP cadre, her income as a lawmaker does not reflect personal modesty. It reflects Party-directed financial discipline."
"In reality, a large portion of her congressional salary and benefits is remitted to the CPP. The Party then allocates back only what it decides she needs, based on internal regulations and the supposed necessities of her dependents."
"This is why her low SALN is not proof of virtue. It is a symptom of the CPP’s centralized financial system. The money does not vanish into thin air. It flows upward, consolidating Party resources, and fuels the same underground machinery that wages a protracted people’s war against the State."
"This is not 1871 Paris, and they are not revolutionaries in red caps storming the barricades. This is the Philippines in 2025, a democratic republic where elected officials are bound by transparency and accountability, not by the dictates of a clandestine Party."
"If they are proud to follow the CPP’s financial doctrine, then they should have the courage to admit it in public, instead of hiding behind fairy tales of workers’ wages and revolutionary romanticism," aniya pa.
Photo courtesy: Screenshot from Arian Jane Ramos/FB
Samantala, wala pang pahayag si Kabataan party-list Rep. Co kaugnay ng mga alegasyong ito hanggang sa oras ng pagsulat ng ulat na ito. Bukas ang Balita sa kaniyang panig.
