Progressive bloc endorses 5 administration senatorial bets

(Updated 3 p.m.) The progressive Makabayan bloc on Thursday endorsed five senatorial candidates from the administration slate for the 2013 midterm elections. At a press conference in Quezon City, Makabayan president Satur Ocampo announced his coalition is supporting the candidacy of the following senatorial bets:

• Senator Francis Escudero,
• Senator Loren Legarda,
• Senator Aquilino Pimentel,
• Movie and Television Review and Classification Board chairman Grace Poe-Llamanzares, and
• former Las Piñas Rep. Cynthia Villar.

The progressive bloc called the five senators and the group’s standard-bearer, Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Teodoro Casiño, as the six “Senate champions.” Ocampo, who lost his senatorial bid in 2010 under the slate of then-presidential bet Senator Manuel Villar, said the senatorial candidates were chosen based on “a history of cooperation.” “Ang pangunahing konsiderasyon ay ‘yung matagal nang pagsasamahan at pagtutulungan. Sa hanay ng senatorial candidates, hindi naging mahirap ang pagpili sa kanila dahil very positive ang kanilang responses,” the Makabayan president said. He added that Makabayan’s chosen guest candidates agreed to support the coalition’s platforms, including its advocacy for the lowering of prices of basic commodities, seeking an end to extrajudicial killings, and the review of bilateral treaties. Ocampo likewise said that the guest candidates vowed to focus on common legislative agenda, such as genuine agrarian reform, the Freedom of Information bill, and amendments to the Cybercrime Law.