THE Makabayan bloc, widely recognized both for its vocal advocacy for marginalized sectors and as the principal legal electoral front of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), has made its boldest move yet: fielding 11 Senate candidates for the 2025 midterm elections. Given the party's track record and the challenges it has faced in previous Senate races, the move raised as many questions as it did eyebrows.

Here's a bit of context: since the CPP's successful entry into mainstream politics in 2001, the majority of its party-list votes came from command votes in its 'mass bases' in rural strongholds. Over the years, however, their mass bases' ability to deliver votes for the party's electoral machinery has steadily declined, as evidenced by the diminishing number of seats they occupy in the House of Representatives.