Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 13) — Aksyon Demokratiko, the political party that recently elected Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso as its president, continued to expand its membership ahead of the 2022 elections.
The latest to join the party is Marawi civic leader and former senatorial candidate Samira Gutoc.
Gutoc announced on Friday that she accepted Aksyon Demokratiko’s invitation for her to be part of its national executive board.
This can be considered a first step in once again trying to enter politics, she told CNN Philippines. But Gutoc said she has to consult with her constituents first regarding another possible senatorial bid.
“I am part of a political party now and I’m trying to understand what’s going on right now in national politics,” Gutoc said in a phone interview.
“It depends on my constituency, the Muslim Filipinos, the Filipinos who trusted me, the four million Filipinos who gave me their votes,” she added.
Gutoc ran in the 2019 midterm elections as part of the Liberal Party’s Otso Diretso senatorial slate and placed 25th. She was an independent candidate adopted by the opposition party.
Vice President Leni Robredo, the LP’s potential standard bearer, is reaching out to other possible candidates in a bid to unite the opposition behind one presidential bet and increase its fighting chance against the administration.
Gutoc said she hopes Robredo’s efforts – including talks with Moreno – will bear fruit.
“Of course, I’ve been identified in the past with Vice President Leni. I continue to hold her in highest esteem. I still hope that she and…Isko, my president sa (in) Aksyon, will be able to thresh things out,” Gutoc said.
Asked why she chose Aksyon Demokratiko, Gutoc said she sees it as a platform to voice her advocacies, including youth development, helping the marginalized sectors, and human rights, among others.
She chairs Ako Bakwit, an advocacy rights group pushing for the rights and welfare of internally displaced persons.
Gutoc said all “pro-democratic progressive movements” should work together.
Aksyon Demokratiko is a relatively small political party founded by the late former Senator Raul Roco.
Aside from Moreno, another elected official in its leadership is Pasig Mayor Vico Sotto, who sits as Executive Vice President.
The party is also in talks with the Nationalist People’s Coalition, headed by Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III.
Sotto is the running mate of Partido Reporma’s Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, the first to confirm his presidential bid in 2022.
Robredo met with the tandem in July, but talks are now at a standstill after failing to agree on a “unification formula.”
LOOK: Former senatorial candidate Samira Gutoc joins the national executive board of Aksyon Demokratiko, the political party that recently elected Manila Mayor Isko Moreno as its president | @eimorpsantos
📷 Aksyon Demokratiko pic.twitter.com/IKHlleFurD
— CNN Philippines (@cnnphilippines) August 13, 2021
