Opposition coalition launched, names 8 senatorial bets

THE MAIN opposition Liberal Party (LP) has teamed up with other political and cause-oriented groups, forming an eight-member senatorial line-up for the May 2019 midterm elections to fight what it described as a “creeping authoritarianism” in the political landscape.
Francis “Kiko” N. Pangilinan, LP president and campaign manager of the new coalition, said the groups share a “common set of facts and values” and aim “to reclaim wider democratic spaces to push our common agenda of a progressive and prosperous Philippines primarily through the 2019 national elections.”
The coalition includes the Aksyon Demokratiko party founded by the late Raul S. Roco, party-lists Magdalo and Akbayan, and the Tindig Pilipinas group, among others.
The senatorial slate is composed of Senator Paolo Benigno “Bam” A. Aquino IV; former senator and interior secretary Manuel “Mar” A. Roxas II; legal counsel to the vice-president Romulo B. Macalintal; Magdalo Party-list Representative Gary C. Alejano; Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) Chairperson Jose Manuel “Chel” I. Diokno; former Bangsamoro Transition Commission member Samira Gutoc-Tomawis; former solicitor general Florin „Pilo“ T. Hillbay; and former House of Representatives deputy speaker Lorenzo „Erin“ R. Tañada III.
Mr. Pangilinan said the LP’s chosen candidates are “pro-democracy, pro-poor, and pro-progress.”
“That would be the over arching theme of our campaign as we put forward solutions to high prices and inflation, creation of better-paying jobs and increased incomes,” he added.
Sought for comment on the senatorial bids of three former senators who are facing charges relating to the pork barrel scam — Ramon “Bong” B. Revilla Jr., Jose Pimentel “Jinggoy” E. Estrada Jr., and Juan F. Ponce Enrile -— the opposition leader said, “That shows the level of disrespect and cynicism in our democracy and electoral system. I hope our voters will see through that.”
Mr. Revilla, who is in jail while awaiting resolution on his plunder case, filed his Certificate of Candidacy (CoC) yesterday through his wife, Lani Mercado-Revilla.
The 94-year old Enrile, who is out of detention for humanitarian reasons, personally filed his CoC after an earlier filing by a proxy contained errors.
Mr. Estrada, out on bail, filed his COC on Tuesday.
Among the other candidates who made their bids on Wednesday, the last day of the COC filing, were former Presidential spokesperson Harry L. Roque, who is gunning for a Senate seat after announcing earlier this week that he would be the first nominee of party-list Luntian.
Mr. Roque said he is now running under the People’s Reform Party (PRP), founded by the late senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago.
He added that the ruling Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) party offered him a seat in its senatorial slate, but he declined.
“I have been offered a seat under PDP-Laban, which I am grateful for, pero ang sabi ko nga (but as I’ve said), if I’m going to run it cannot be as a traditional politician.”
152 SENATORIAL CANDIDATES
After the closing of the five-day filing period, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) reported that it accepted 152 COCs for senator and 185 party-list certificates of nomination.
Comelec Commissioner Ma. Rowena Amelia V. Guanzon noted that only 42 of the party-lists have women as first nominees, or 23% of the total.
“It’s too little,” she said, adding that the minimum for women candidates should be 20%.
The Comelec will release the final list of candidates by December 15.
“We have a deadline to cleanse all the nuisance candidates before December 15,” Comelec Commissioner Marlon S. Casquejo said. — Gillian M. Cortez