Friday, 13 November 2009
The militant party-list Bayan Muna formally announced that its top representative in the House of Representatives would be running for a seat in the Senate in the May 10, 2010 elections.ImageBayan Muna party-list chairman Reynaldo Lesaca said in a press conference before the party's fifth national convention on Thursday that they will be supporting Rep. Satur Ocampo's senatorial bid.
This would give Bayan Muna the chance to push for the party's concerns in a higher office, he added.
Lesaca also announced that incumbent Bayan Muna Reps. Teddy Casiño, Javier Colmenares, and Atty. Joven Laura would be the party's top 3 nominees for the 2010 elections. Casiño would be the party number one nominee, Lesaca said.
“I would fill the very big hole Rep. Ocampo would leave in Congress,” Casiño said.
Ocampo is already in his third and final term in the House of Representatives.
Ocampo accepted the challenge of gunning for one of 12 Senate seats that will be contested next year.
It will only be the second time after the restoration of democracy in 1986 that the militant left will try to win a Senate seat. They failed the first time around in the 1987 senatorial elections.
Casiño said Ocampo is the best senatorial candidate. Even though Ocampo is still not in the Senate, he believes Ocampo is better than those seated when it comes to record of service to the country.
“Eh mas matagal pa nga siya nakulong kaysa kay Ninoy (He was imprisoned longer than Ninoy Aquino),” Casiño said.
“Politics of change” in 2010
Bayan Muna's goal in 2010 is for the opposition to win as many seats as possible. “We want the administration to lose and be replaced by the opposition,” he said.
When Bayan Muna first won seats in the lower House in 2001, the party already committed to push for the “politics of change” in a larger setting, and they believe 2010 is the right time for it.
Ocampo said real change is not about empty words, but implementation of promises. He challenged the 2010 candidates to give “concrete explanations of what they are fighting for.”
He said the country's problems are not limited to graft and corruption, but encompass a whole range of other socio-economic problems.
“Priorities such as health, housing and social services” should be put into place, he said. Problems such as unemployment and underdevelopment should not be forgotten, he added.
Whoever will win in 2010, Ocampo said, “should see to it that they are able to deliver their promises.”
Makabayan coalition
Last April 16, 2009, Bayan Muna united with 7 other parties to form the Makabayan Coalition. As a result, “we were able to broaden our voting base to 3 million,” Casiño said.
Rep. Liza Maza of the Gabriela party-list, a member of the Makabayan Coalition, is also vying for a seat in the Senate.
This new coalition, with its own voting base, is one why reason they want Ocampo and Maza to be guest senatorial candidates of an opposition political party.
Casiño said it would be good if both Maza and Ocampo are in one party only. Otherwise, the voting base of the coalition might be divided.
The coalition is currently in talks with Senator Manny Villar of the Nacionalista Party (NP), Senator Loren Legarda of the Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC), Senator Francis Escudero's “group,” and Senator Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III of the Liberal Party (LP), chairman Lesaca said.
“Dehado kung isa lang ang kandidato na makukuha (It would be unfortunate if only one is chosen),” Casiño said.
He said the presidential candidate they will ally with will gain from the 3 million voting base of the Makabayan Coalition.
“Malaki ang maiaambag ng aming coalition sa pagpapanalo ng oposisyon said 2010 (The coalition would contribute greatly to the opposition's win in the 2010 elections),” Casiño said.
Picking their presidential candidate
Casiño said that next week, they will announce the party they will join and the candidate they will support.
Because Bayan Muna party-list does not have financial resources, Ocampo said he hopes that whoever they will link up with should be able to help fund their campaign.
However, Casiño asserted that “funding is a consideration, but not the main consideration.”
Carrying Bayan Muna's platform, willingness to help the party, and the winnability of the candidate are major considerations in picking their presidential candidate, Casiño said.
Ocampo said NP standard-bearer Villar has been the most responsive to including both him and Maza in the NP. But this is not a guarantee that they will already join Villar's camp.
He added there are still on-going talks with other opposition candidates since “significant elements” of Bayan Muna's platform are not included in Villar's proposal. Ocampo did not elaborate what these significant elements are when asked by reporters.
“They (Maza and Ocampo) represent a movement with a nationwide character,” Casiño said. This is why there are certain non-negotiable entities that need to be addressed," he added. (abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak)
Source: http://newsbreak.com.ph/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7084&Itemid=88889051
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