The long wait is over. The people of the Philippines have to choose once more their leaders. May 13 is a significant day. It is when we exercise the essence of People's Power. After this day, I am hoping this country would have a pure and perfect combination to rule the pearl of the orient.
Yes, I only have eight senators to endorse. I believe the warhead of these magic 8 can turn the sinking ship to its normal state. They can already move mountains towards the betterment of this country. I have 4 just to complete the 12 candidates but I am not sure of them.
Here are the senatorial candidates that I recommend and whom I believe can make difference for the next few years. Let us not forget, our vote is our voice.
My senators.
1.
Teddy Casino
- is a party-list representative of Bayan Muna. He is currently serving his third term.
He is the chairperson of the House Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
Development.
Born
on Nov. 15, 1968, Casiño finished his elementary education at the De La
Salle University (DLSU) and finished high school at La Salle Green
Hills. He finished college at the University of the Philippines Los
Baños with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology. In 2002, he was accorded the
UPLB Distinguished Alumni Award for Extension.
Casiño is a former
president of the College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP) and
was a member of the Kilusang Mayo Uno and the Bagong Alyansang
Makabayan. He was appointed commissioner of the EDSA People Power
Commission but was removed for constantly criticizing the
administration.
He also had a short stint as a reporter in ABS-CBN’s Hoy Gising and The Correspondents.
Casiño
first joined the House of Representatives in 2004 as representative of
party-list group Bayan Muna. His party again won party-list
representation in 2007 and 2010.
Casiño is the principal author of
4 laws including The Public Attorneys Act of 2007, The Tax Relief Act
of 2009, The Rent Control Act of 2009, and The Anti-Torture Act of 2009.
2. Edward Hagedorn
A surprise addition to the senatorial race, Puerto Princesa Mayor
Edward Solon Hagedorn has been a public servant for over 20 years.
Hagedorn first served as Puerto Princesa mayor from June 1992
until June
30, 2001 and again on November 2002 until present. An independent
candidate, Hagedorn said he decided to run for senator since he is on
his third and last term as mayor.
Hagedorn was born on October 12,
1946 in Paranaque, Rizal. His parents were Mr. Alexander Hagedorn and
the former Miss Gliceria Solon. He is married to Ma. Elena Marcelo, and
blessed with two children Eva Christie and Elroy John. He studied in San
Sebastian College-Recoletos and University of the East in Manila.
Hagedorn
served as mayor of Puerto Princesa City in 1992 and at the same time
served as Representative of League of Cities of the Philippines, Region
IV; Member of National Executive Board of Boy Scout of the Philippines;
and Assemblyman of Southern Philippines Council for Peace and
Development.
He is credited with transforming the city as a major
eco-tourism destination and model in environment protection. Puerto
Princesa is a Hall of Fame Awardee for being the cleanest and greenest
component city in the Philippines and has been given national and
international awards and recognition for various innovative programs.
Hagedorn
was supposed to end his third and final term on June 30, 2001. He ran
for governor of Palawan that year but lost in the election.
However,
the Supreme Court made a landmark decision to allow him a fresh term as
mayor after winning in a special election called by majority of
barangay Officials on September 24, 2002.
Hagedorn was the subject
of a biopic titled "Hagedorn" played by the late actor Fernando Poe Jr.
in 1995. Hagedorn was appointed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as
anti-jueteng czar in 2005.
3.Risa Hontiveros
Former Akbayan party-list Rep. Ana Risa “Risa” Hontiveros-Baraquel was
an accomplished broadcast journalist for ten years before becoming an
activist.
Risa was only 15 years old when her sense of student activism pushed her to criticize the operation of Bataan Nuclear Plant.
While
still an undergraduate student in Ateneo de Manila University, Risa led
various groups advocating peace from 1988 before working as a broadcast
journalist.
The Kapisanan ng mga Broadkaster ng Pilipinas
eventually recognized Risa, the older sister of veteran news anchor Pia
Hontiveros, as Best Female Newscaster in 1994.
Risa also served as chairman of the government panel for peace talks with the National Democratic Front from 1998 to 1999.
This
earned her a nomination at the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize six years
later while still continuing to be active in campaigns advocating
women’s right, and good governance.
In 2004, Risa secured a seat
in the House of Representatives as the third nominee of Akbayan
party-list group, which held countless gimmicks exposing corrupt
practices during Arroyo administration.
She became a single
parent after her husband, Frank Baraquel, suffered a severe asthma
attack in 2005 and left her with four kids.
The staunch critic of
former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her husband easily won her
reelection in 2007 mid-term elections.
As a congresswoman, she
filed bills on Cheaper Medicines Law and the Comprehensive Agrarian
Reform Program Extension with Reforms (CARPER) Law
She also filed
legislations against prostitution, gender balance, as well as Students'
Rights and Welfare (STRAW) Bill before losing her senatorial bid in the
2010 presidential elections.
If she were not in politics, Risa
would probably pursue a career in theater. As a talented singer, she
once played as one of the Von Trapp children in the Repertory Philipines
production of the Sound of Music with Lea Salonga, Monique Wilson, and
Raymond Lauchengco.
4. Chiz Escudero
Senator Francis Joseph “Chiz” Guevara Escudero developed a talent in
addressing big crowds while helping with the local campaigns of his
father during his teenage years.
From 1984, Chiz helped organize
the congressional bids of late Sorsogon Rep. Salvador “Sonny” Escudero
that helped him realize he wanted to enter politics at the age of 22.
His
family did not allow him to run for municipal councilor and mayor until
he finished law at the University of the Philippines.
Chiz
waited to pass the Philippine Bar Examinations in 1994 and obtain a
Masters degree in International and Comparative Law abroad in 1996
before finally running for Congress in 1998.
He served various
positions as a congressman, became campaign spokesperson for Fernando
Poe Jr., and was one of the few who favored the impeachment of then
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
In 2005, he voted against the
dropping of impeachment complaints against Arroyo, maintaining his
position in 2006 that paved the way for his election to the Senate in
2007.
The roles he played in the House of Representatives like
House minority leader earned awards like becoming one of the Ten
Outstanding Young Men of the Philippines.
As senator, he heads
the Senate Committees on Justice and Human Rights, Joint Oversight
Committees on Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, Joint Congressional
Oversight Committee on the Clean Air Act, and Committee on Environment
and Natural Resources.
Chiz was the only Filipino named as Asia
News Network's Asia's Idols in 2007 and was honored by the prestigious
World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader in 2008.
He has
also authored or sponsored 149 Senate bills, 63 of which have been
signed into law including the Anti-Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance
Act, Anti-Torture Act, and Free Legal Assistance Act.
Escudero
also said he has acted upon all 645 bills referred to his committees,
and that his Priority Development Assistance Fund has been used to assit
regional hospitals and construct public markets all over the country
.
5. Peter Cayetano
Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano knew he wanted to be a public servant as early as 13.
Seeing
how his father – the late Senator Renato Cayetano – work with people in
the district of Taguig, Pateros, and Muntinlupa inspired him to study
political science and law.
His experience as a councilor in the
University of the Philippines’ student council helped prepare Cayetano
to choose a career in public service. He then went on to be a councilor
in Taguig at 22.
But Cayetano’s early achievements eventually
earned him detractors, who derail his proclamation as vice mayor in
Taguig until only 10 days before his three-term in office was due to
end.
His short tenure as Taguig vice mayor in 1998 then convinced Cayetano to run for Congress, where he served for two terms.
A
minority member, Cayetano was among the prominent congressmen who
exposed various scams, standing up against First Gentleman Mike Arroyo
during the Arroyo government from 2001.
His advocacy against corruption helped him to win a seat in the Senate in 2007.
It
was under his chairmanship that the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee looked
into the anomalous deals on NBN-ZTE, Fertilizer Funds, and cash giving
in Malcanang against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
He also
chaired the Senate Committee on Education, Arts and Culture, which
helped pass the University of the Philippines Charter Act of 2008.
As
chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Information and Mass Media,
he managed to pass the Freedom of Information bill in the Senate during
the 14th Congress.
Continuing his commitment on transparency and
accountability, Cayetano managed to file at least 14 bills like
proposals to amend questionable provisions on the Anti-Cybercrime Act
among others.
When the youngest minority leader in the history of
Senate is not thinking about politics, Cayetano takes time to fill his
room with collectibles of his favourite basketball players - Michael
Jordan and Kobe Bryant.
6. Bam Aquino
Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV is an entrepreneur running under the banner of the Liberal Party.
A
registered voter of Barangay San Jose in Concepcion, Tarlac, Aquino
filed his Certificate of Candidacy for senator on October 5, 2012.
Aquino
said several people urged him to run for the Senate including Sen.
Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan and Gawad Kalinga's Tony Meloto.
If elected, Aquino said he will concentrate on finding employment opportunities for fresh graduates and help alleviate poverty.
The
35-year old is a first cousin of President Benigno Aquino III. He is
the son of Ninoy Aquino’s youngest brother Paul and his wife Melanie.
Last year, Bam married his girlfriend Mary Fatima “Timi” Gomez in Tagaytay.
The aspiring public servant was named one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men in the Philippines in 2012.
Aquino graduated summa cum laude from the Ateneo de Manila University in 1999 with a degree in Management Engineering.
Bam--named
after the character “Bambam” in the cartoon series
Flintstones--graduated valedictorian in grade school and in high school
at the Ateneo de Manila.
At 25, Aquino became the chairman of
the National Youth Commission, the youngest person ever to head a
national government agency.
In 2006, after his stint with
government, Bam established a program that helps female
micro-entrepreneurs get better incomes for their families. This is what
is now known as the Hapinoy Program.
7. Koko Pimentel
The son of former Senator Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel Jr. has been active
in various socio-civic and awareness campaigns during his life as a
student.
His advocacies did not stop him from graduating with
honors from Ateneo de Manila University and University of the
Philippines before topping the Philippine Bar Examinations in 1990.
The
younger Pimentel also became a professional lecturer in De La Salle
Professional Schools, University of the East, and Far Eastern University
until 1994.
These got recognition from President Fidel V. Ramos,
who appointed him to represent Mindanao to the National Youth
Commission from 1995 to 1998.
While working as a lawyer, he also
co-anchored several radio programs before deciding to join the
senatorial race in the 2007 mid-term elections.
Pimentel suffered
a defeat from then Bukidnon Rep. Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri, who managed
to secure the 12th slot with a narrow margin of 18,000 votes in a
recount held in July 2007.
Complaining he was cheated in
Maguindanao, Pimentel went to question Zubiri’s proclamation before the
Supreme Court that eventually dismissed his petitions.
After four
years of protest, Pimentel won the recount in the Senate Electoral
Tribunal, which forced Zubiri to step down and made him as the 12th
legitimate senator in August 2011.
Pimentel then assumed to chair
the Senate Committee on Electoral Reforms and People’s Participation as
well as the Senate Select Oversight Committee on Suffrage.
He
has established the Kontra Pandaraya Movement to ensure that every
Filipino will be protected from all forms of cheating and corruption.
He
has also advocated strongly for local autonomy, environment, Overseas
Filipino Workers, youth and justice in his 1 year and 5 months of
sitting as senator.
8. Sonny Trillanes
Before leading a group of soldiers in 2003 Oakwood Mutiny, Senator
Antonio Trillanes IV grew up as a simple kid playing in the streets
Caloocan City, where he was born and raised.
Known to many as
Sonny, he was a keen student who commutes to and from Sienna College in
Quezon CIty from 1975 to 1983, and Angelicum School from 1983 to 1987.
After
graduating with honors in college, Sonny became a household name in the
country for facing charges in both military and civilian courts for the
rebellions he participated like Manila Peninsula siege in 2007.
But
that did not stop the former Navy officer to become the first person to
be elected to Senate while launching a campaign behind bars.
In
2009, Sonny was criticized for allegedly being “the biggest spending
member of the Senate” with claims that he spent P8.1 million during his
first six month in office.
After years in detention, the neophyte
senator got his freedom back after receiving an amnesty from President
Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III in 2010.
During his first term, Sonny
ranked fourth in the list of most productive senator in terms of the
number of bills and resolutions filed in the Senate.
He filed a
total of 729 bills and resolutions, 29 of which have been passed into
law like the Archipelagic Baselines Law, and the new Armed Forces of the
Philippines Modernization Act among others.
Sonny, who
co-authored the Cheaper Medicines Act and Philippine National Police
Education and Promotions Act, promises to continue his efforts in
education and healthcare reforms in the Senate.
He also vows to
prioritize the legislation of more anti-corruption and anti-poverty
measures as well as laws that will improve peace and order in the
country.
Sonny takes a break from his work in the Senate by
playing tennis, basketball with his friends or taking his family out to
dine in Filipino restaurants or watch movies.
These 8 picks, for me, can drive the ship already in promulgating laws for the general welfare of the filipino community.
