Walden Bello | |
|---|---|
 Bello in 2003 | |
| Member of thePhilippine House of Representatives forAkbayan Partylist | |
| In office June 30, 2007 – March 16, 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Dr. Mario Aguja Etta Rosales |
| Succeeded by | Angelina Ludovice-Katoh |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Walden Flores Bello (1945-11-11)November 11, 1945 (age 80) |
| Political party | PLM (2021–present) |
| Other political affiliations | Independent (2015–2021) Akbayan (1998–2015) CPP (1970s–late 1990s) |
| Spouse | |
| Parent(s) | Luz Flores[1] Jesse Bello[1] |
| Residence | Quezon City |
| Alma mater | Ateneo de Manila University (BA) Princeton University (PhD) |
| Occupation | Activist, writer |
| Profession | Environmentalist |
| Awards | Right Livelihood Award |
| Website | www |
Walden Flores Bello (born November 11, 1945) is a Filipino academic who served as a member of theHouse of Representatives of the Philippines. He is an international adjunct professor atBinghamton University,[2] professor of sociology andpublic administration at theUniversity of the Philippines Diliman, and executive director of regional policy think-tank Focus on the Global South. Bello is also the founder and chairperson of the left-wing allianceLaban ng Masa.(lit. Fight of the Masses)
On October 20, 2021, Bello filed his candidacy forvice president in the2022 Philippine elections as the running mate of presidential candidate and labor leaderLeody de Guzman. Their platforms focus on progressive,democratic socialist, and pro-poor systemic change.[3]
Bello was born inCardona, Rizal, to Luz Flores and Jesse Bello fromIlocos Norte andIlocos Sur provinces, respectively.[1] His family paid for hisJesuit schooling at theAteneo de Manila University. During his stay in the Ateneo, he served as the editor-in-chief ofThe GUIDON in 1965. Subsequently, he attendedgraduate school atPrinceton University. While attending Princeton in the United States, he was introduced to theanti-war movement and led an occupation of theWoodrow Wilson Center. The confrontation with police during these protests radicalized Bello and inspired him to pursue a life of activism. For his graduate studies, he traveled to Chile and stayed in shanty towns followingSalvador Allende'ssocialist rise to the presidency.[4]
When he returned to the United States to defend his dissertation, he lost his ability to return to the Philippines after his passport had been revoked as a result of the declaration ofmartial law by PresidentFerdinand Marcos on September 21, 1972.[5]
Bello received his Ph.D. in sociology from Princeton in 1975 after completing his doctoral dissertation titled "The roots and dynamics of revolution and counterrevolution in Chile."[6] Afterwards, he became part of the anti-Marcos movement, began teaching at theUniversity of California, Berkeley, and became a member of theCommunist Party of the Philippines.[4] In 1978 after being arrested multiple times during protests, he was arrested after leading the takeover of the Philippine consulate in San Francisco. Bello was later released following ahunger strike to bring attention to the situation the Philippines was facing.[7] In the early-1980s, Bello also broke into theWorld Bank headquarters and stole 3,000 pages of confidential documents that he said would show the connection of the IMF and World Bank to Marcos.[7] He later wroteDevelopment Debacle: the World Bank in the Philippines in 1982 surrounding the documents stating that this publication contributed toward the 1986People Power Revolution in the Philippines, with Bello returning to his native state two years later.[4]
In 1995, Bello co-founded Focus on the Global South, a policy research institute based inBangkok, Thailand.[7] Bello had also led teach-ins during the1999 Seattle WTO protests and protested internationally against globalization at the2001 G8 summit, theWTO Ministerial Conference of 2003, theWTO Ministerial Conference of 2005 and was banned from the 2006 World Bank-IMF Conference in Singapore.[7]
Politically, Bello began to turn away from the Communist Party of the Philippines after he heard that they allegedly killed individuals in the 1980s and 1990s that were accused of beingdouble agents.[4] Bello later joined theAkbayan Citizens' Action Party and became a member of congress in 2007.[4] In March 2015, Bello resigned his position in congress due to conflicts with PresidentBenigno Aquino III that surrounded theDisbursement Acceleration Program and theMamasapano incident. He ran for senator in 2016 but lost.[8]
He currently sits on the board of directors of the International Forum on Globalization[9] and on the board of directors of the leftist think-tankCenter for Economic and Policy Research.[10] He is also a member of the regionalGreenpeace.[7]
The Laban ng Masa coalition launched a campaign to collect 300,000 signatures to urge Bello to run for president in the 2022 elections. In a statement, Laban ng Masa said it wants to "push for an ambitious platform that focuses on the poor, prioritizes the neglected, and fights for the rights of ordinary Filipinos".[11] Bello's group sought talks with Vice PresidentRobredo's backers for three months but were ignored. This caused them to supportLeody de Guzman's presidential candidacy, instead.[12]
In October 2021, Bello decided to run for the vice-presidency under thePartido Lakas ng Masa, replacing Raquel Castillo who had filed her candidacy as Guzman's running mate in the same party.[13]
The USSocialist Worker described Bello as "one of the most articulate and prolific voices on the international left" and that "he has devoted most of his life to fightingimperialism and corporate globalization".[14] Bello was also a supporter ofHugo Chávez and was impressed by his opposition to the United States, stating after Chávez's death that he was "a class act, one impossible to follow. Wherever you are right now, give 'em hell".[15]
On August 8, 2022, Bello was arrested by the police in his home inQuezon City[16][17] through an arrest warrant issued by theDavao CityRegional Trial Court Branch 10.[18] He had been indicted in June forcyberlibel based on theRevised Penal Code and theCybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 (Republic Act 10175); stemming from a complaint filed against him by formerDavao City information officer Jefry Tupas.[16] He was detained at the Quezon City Police District headquarters at Camp Karingal until he was released the following day after postingbail.[18][19]
His arrest was condemned by theEuropean Parliament and the Asean Parliamentarians for Human Rights.[20] The case raised concerns aboutfreedom of speech[17] and reportedly drew protests.[20]
In January 2023, the RTC Branch 10 entered a not guilty plea for Bello as he refused to enter a plea to a charge against him.[21]
Bello has authored and edited a number of nonfiction books. Among them are the following:[22][23]
| Year | Office | Party | Votes received | Result | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | % | P. | Swing | |||||
| 2007 | Representative (Party-list) | Akbayan | 466,448 | 2.91% | 8th | — | Won | |
| 2010 | 1,061,947 | 3.53% | 4th | +0.62 | Won | |||
| 2013 | 829,149 | 2.99% | 5th | -0.54 | Won | |||
| 2016 | Senator of the Philippines | IND | 1,091,194 | 2.43% | 36th | — | Lost | |
| 2022 | Vice President of the Philippines | PLM | 100,827 | 0.19% | 7th | — | Lost | |
In 2003, Bello was awarded theRight Livelihood Award, whose website describes him as "one of the leading critics of the current model ofeconomic globalization, combining the roles of intellectual and activist."[24] Bello is also a fellow of theTransnational Institute (based inAmsterdam), and is a columnist forForeign Policy in Focus. In March 2008 he was named Outstanding Public Scholar for 2008 by theInternational Studies Association.[1]
Bello was given the Amnesty International Philippines' "Most Distinguished Defender of Human Rights" award in 2023.[25]
