Senate bets Francisco, Gadon, de Guzman, Gutoc, and Valdes reveal platforms

With the May 2019 elections just a few months away, GMA News TV's Investigative Documentaries started its "Kandidato" series to let voters get to know candidates more. Senate bets Elmer Francisco, Larry Gadon, Ka Leody de Guzman, Samira Gutoc, and Butch Valdes discussed their platforms in the first episode which aired this week.

Elmer Francisco pushes for federalism

Elmer Francisco is from the family behind Francisco Motor Corp. which has been making jeepneys for more than 70 years.

A B.S. Physics graduate of the De La Salle University, Francisco settled in Cagayan de Oro City when he married his wife Michelle.

Running for a Senate seat under the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP), Francisco's main platform is federalism even if he also sees himself as a voice of the transport sector.

"Ang LGU, may kinikita iyan from taxes. Ang maiiwan sa kanila, mas marami kaysa sa pupunta sa national government kasi mas maraming pera ang maiiwan sa LGU, mas maraming pera ang pwede nilang magamit para i-develop ang infrastructure sa kanilang lugar at makapagtayo ng napakaraming negosyo at napakaraming pabrika  na makakapagbigay ng daan-daang libong trabaho sa mga Pilipino," he said.

Larry Gadon on why he's mad at stupidity

Lawyer Larry Gadon became known when he filed an impeachment complaint against then Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.

A law graduate of the Far Eastern University, Gadon, who passed the Bar exams in 1993, said he has an edge in the Senate race.

"Kasi ang Senado ay gumagawa ng batas so ako ay mas bihasa sa bagay na iyan. Iyan ang aking advantage," he said.

Gadon also figured in the news when he was caught on video hurling bad words at rallyists.

But he said such is his character. 

"Character ko iyan e. Hyper ako at emotional ako, lalo na pag nagagalit ako sa kabobohan. Pero alam mo balewala iyan. Kasi ang pagmumura ko na iyan at pagsisigaw ko na iyan, hindi nakakamatay iyan," Gadon said.

One of the advocacies he will pursue, he said, is the lowering of power rates.

Ka Leody de Guzman on contractualization

Ka Leody de Guzman has been a labor leader for the past 35 years. A former leader of the Kilusang Mayo Uno in Metro Manila from 1990 to 1999, he also became national chairman of the Bukluran ng mga Manggagawang Pilipino.

His being a labor leader, he said, is his edge. If he wins, it will be the first time that the labor sector will truly have a representative in the Senate, he added.

Hailing from Naujan, Oriental Mindoro, and with farmers as parents, de Guzman holds a degree in B.S. Customs Administration from the PMI Colleges. However, he started working in a garments factory two days after graduation.

De Guzman said there should no longer be contractualization. 

"Lumabas ang pulso ng manggagawa na dating hiwa-hiwalay na nagsama sama para sa pagtapos ng kontraktwalisasyon. Ang mga manggagawang kontraktwal na dati hindi sumasama sa pagkilos ay nandoon sila nagwewelga. Kung hindi lang tumalikod si Pangulong Duterte sa kanyang pangako sa wawakasan ang kontraktuwalisasyon ay tapos na sana iyan," he said.

De Guzman said if he wins a Senate seat, he will push for the shortening of working hours from eight to six, and for the protection of LGBT rights.

Samira Gutoc as voice of women

When the Marawi siege occurred, Samira Gutoc and her family evacuated from Marawi City to Iligan City in Lanao del Sur.

A wife and mother to three children, Gutoc is also a former reporter and an NGO worker.

Gutoc, whose father was a consul general at the Philippine Embassy in Saudi Arabia, was born in Jeddah and studied grade school to high school there. However, she went to the University of the Philippines for college where she finished mass communications and became president of the UP-Muslim Association.

She also finished a law degree at Arellano University in 2006 and took the Bar exams thrice but did not pass. "I took it three times. Hindi ako nakapasa. So well, God has His design," she said.

Gutoc recounted that she has experienced discrimination before and she would like to be the voice of women in the Senate.

"There are some in my community na nagsasabing bawal maging lider ang isang babae but the TOYM [Ten Outstanding Young Men] is recognition that we have done something for the community, for Mindanao, and for the country na makisabak tayo. Hindi pwedeng iniitsapwera tayo," she said.

Butch Valdes on why he's running

Certified public accountant Butch Valdes was a former undersecretary of the Department of Education, Culture and Sports from 1998 to 2000.

A graduate of political science and accounting from De La Salle University and holder of a master's degree in management from the Asian Institute of Management, Valdes said he is running for a Senate seat under the Katipunan ng Demokratikong Pilipino because he wants to serve.

"Gusto kong makilala as somebody who is sincerely ready to give everything including his life for the country and going to be working very hard so that the future generations will have a better quality of life, better than what we have today," said Valdes, whose father became Philippine ambassador to Japan, Italy, and Greece during the time of former President Ferdinand Marcos.

"It's a sense of duty finally. That's the reason we joined the electoral process. Professionals, non-politicians with something in common. Pushing for the integrity of the sovereign Republic of the Philippines, moving to protect the population and hoping and doing things in order to focus on improving the quality of life of the succeeding generations," he said.

Valdes calls the Dengvaxia issue "a genocidal scam probably the worst crime ever committed by high government officials as imposed on its own people."

He said his knowledge of economy and other issues will help him at the Senate if he wins. —KG, GMA News