MANILA, November 9, 2012-Senatorial candidate Cynthia Villar believes inclusion in the “Magic 6” of Makabayang Koalisyon ng Mamamayan (Makabayan), which extols almost 4 million membership nationwide, will boost chances of winning in the 2013 midterm elections.
Aside from Villar, Makabayan also endorsed the candidacy of re-electionists Senators Loren Legarda, Francis “Chiz” Escudero and Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, and former MTRCB chairman Grace Poe Llamanzares.
“Yes, they will reinforce our candidacy rather than us reinforcing their candidacy,” said Villar.
She noted that Makabayan has several organizations and partylist groups campaigning all over the nation.
“Of course, we hope to get the support of members and supporters of the organizations under Makabayan,” said Villar.
Makabayan is a political coalition of 11 party list organizations namely: Bayan Muna, Anakpawis, Gabriela Women’s Party, Migrante, Courage, Akap Bata, Kabataan, Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT), Piston, Katribu, and Kalikasan.
It is fielding just one official candidate, former Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casino who is running as an Independent candidate for senator in next year’s polls.
Villar also stressed that the so-called “6 Senate Champions” of the Makabayan share the same advocacies.
“They laid down their advocacies. We read them. We agreed to support in varying degrees certain advocacies of Makabayan. We saw no problem since they are good,” she said.
Sharing Makabayan’s advocacies was the reason cited by the group’s president, former Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo, in taking in the five as guest candidates.
Ocampo said they adopted the candidacy of the five based on a history of cooperative relationship with each of them on people’s issues and advocacies.
Among the Makabayan advocacies shared by Villar are lowering the prices of oil products, water, power and other basic commodities and services; pushing for genuine agrarian reform, pro-people mining policies and environmental protection; equitable minimum wage and salary adjustments in the public and private sectors and subsidy for farmers and fisherfolk.
Villar also vouches for increasing budgetary allocations for essential social services; asserting national sovereignty and pepole’s interest; working for the passage of the Freedom of Information and Whistleblowers Act; seeking an end to extrajudicial killing and enforced disappearances of activists and journalists and amnesty to political prisoners and repealing or amending the Cybercrime Law and decriminalizing libel and pushing for resumption of peace talks.
Villar sees nothing wrong in the Makabayan endorsement since all of them are running under the ticket of the ruling Liberal Party and its coalition partners.
Except for Villar and Pimentel, Legarda, Escudero and Poe are also guest candidates of both LP and the United Nationalist Alliance, a coalition of the Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) of former President Joseph Estrada and PDP-Laban of Vice President Jejomar Binay.
The former congresswoman has likewise maintained that having several endorsements would not prejudice chances of winning of a candidate due to alleged ‘overexposure.”
“The more, the better,” added Villar, as she reminded the electorate to focus on issues and not on personalities.”
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