‘People’s opposition’: Casiño, Castro defend need for activists in Senate

Metro Manila, Philippines - Senatorial bets Teddy Casiño and France Castro from the progressive Makabayan slate defended the need for activists in the legislative branch, explaining that the “people’s opposition” is backed by public interest.

In the third episode of “Ang Kandidato: A NewsWatch Plus Election roundtable,” both candidates slammed the Duterte administration for allegedly putting activists in a bad light, especially with supposed red-tagging efforts.

They said they also don’t have the resources to reach more voters to explain the need for activists in the Senate, and have to rely only on what they call “ground campaigning.”

“Kung connotation lang [of being an activist], usapin ng pagpapaliwanag, madali eh pero ‘yong fear, takot ng mamamayan na sila ay masangkot, sila rin ay makasuhan, ‘yong kanilang pamilya ay gigipitin din, ‘yon ang isa pang napakalaking challenge,” said Casiño, a former Bayan Muna Party-list representative.

[Translation: It’s easy to explain and counter the connotation of being an activist, but one of the biggest challenges is to end the fear that the public will be involved with activists, their families harassed.]

Castro said reforms in the country were also introduced by “mulat at aktibista [educated and activist].”

“Hindi kami nagpayaman, hindi namin ginagamit ang pwesto namin para sa sariling interes, do’n makikita ng taumbayan na ang aktibista ay talagang subsuban din sa pagtatrabaho,” said the incumbent ACT Teachers Party-list representative.

[Translation: We did not enrich ourselves, we did not use our position for personal gain. The public can see that activists are dedicated to their work.]

Castro also said their coalition is “fixed” on issues of Filipinos as she said politicians in the country usually float from party to party.

“Whether kami ay nasa posisyon o wala, kami talaga ‘yong nagki-criticize at nagpiprisinta ng mga alternatibo sa mamamayan,” she said of progressive groups.

[Translation: Whether we are in a position in government or not, we criticize and, at the same time, present alternatives to the public.]

Casiño also mentioned that public interests form Makabayan’s platforms such as a national legislated wage hike and genuine agrarian reform — issues that might be against the interests of the people in power.

He added their stances make them part of a “consistent opposition” and the “people’s opposition.”

“Sinasabi ng tao, ‘Eh kayo palagi kontra-kontra.’ Kasi ‘yong nasa gobyerno ayaw ng pagbabago. That’s what we mean by people’s opposition,” Casiño said.

[Translation: Others would say, “You are always against the government.” That is because those in the government would not want change. That’s what we mean by people’s opposition.]

Other members of the Makabayan slate include sectoral leaders from agriculture, labor, health, transportation, and indigenous groups, among others.

They are Jerome Adonis, Alyn Andamo, Ronnel Arambulo, Arlene Brosas, Mimi Doringo, Mody Floranda, Amirah Lidasan, Liza Maza, and Danilo Ramos.

In April, the Social Weather Stations found Castro leads the Makabayan slate in the pre-election survey, but only having a rank of 30 and a four percent voter preference.