Makabayan fields Casiño as lone senatorial bet for 2013 polls
-A A +ASaturday, September 8, 2012
MANILA -- Leftist groups have officially proclaimed Bayan Muna party-list Representative Teddy Casiño as its lone candidate for the 2013 midterm elections.
In its 2nd national convention, the Makabayan Coalition vowed to spearhead a progressive and alternative campaign on issues and platforms.
Senator Aquilino Pimentel III, former Las Piñas City Representative Cynthia Villar, House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., Deputy Speaker Erin Tañada, and mayors, vice mayors and councilors from all over the country graced the convention and expressed their support for Casiño's candidacy.
Casiño said that among the prospective candidates for the Senate, he is the only non-millionaire, being the third poorest member of the House of Representatives with a net worth of P91,000.
The Bayan Muna lawmaker is now in his third and final term in the House of Representative.
Casiño is the chairman of the House committee on small business and entrepreneurship development, and vice chairman of the committee on higher and technical education.
He said the Makabayan Coalition aims to take its senatorial campaign to a higher level.
"Di uubra ang pagpapacute lang, pagsayaw o pagkanta. Ang dapat ay mas napag-uusapan ang mga isyu ng mamamayan, yung malapit sa sikmura at talagang nakakaapekto sa mga Filipino [Song and dance numbers no longer work on the electorates. Filipinos need intelligent discussions of issues that affect their lives]," he said.
Casiño said his platform will involve three basic issues: basic commodities, job creation, and good governance.
In the 2010 national elections, Makabayan Coalition fielded Satur Ocampo, also of Bayan Muna, and Liza Maza of party-list Gabriela Women's Party.
Ocampo and Maza ran under the resource-rich party of Nacionalista Party presidential candidate Manny Villar but they failed to make it to the "Magic 12."
Maza got 3.8 million votes while Ocampo got 3.5 million. They placed 25th and 26th in the rankings. (Kathrina Alvarez/Sunnex)
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