Leody's Senate bet says 'trapos' cause of poverty in Philippines

A member of labor leader Leody De Guzman's senatorial slate took a swipe at traditional politicians who according to him had long been favoring the wealthy.

During the Partido Lakas ng Masa's rally at the Bantayog ng Mga Bayani in Quezon City, senatorial candidate Luke Espiritu said traditional politicians were the cause of poverty in the country.

"Bakit galit na galit sa trapo? Kasi alam naman ninyo na ang trapo ang sanhi ng kahirapan, at hindi sila nakapagbibigay ng solusyon sa kahirapan," Espiritu said.

(Why are we so mad with traditional politicians? Because you know that they are the cause of poverty, and they cannot provide a solution to poverty.)

"Ang mga manggagawa pwede ba nilang asahan ang mga kapitalista na tulad ni Sherwin Gatchalian upang mawala ang kontraktwalisasyon? Upang tumaas ang sweldo? Pwede ba 'yon? Kapitalista mismo, pwede bang magising ang kapitalista sa Senado? Sa Malacañang, sa Kongreso?" Espiritu said.

"Magising isang araw at sasabihin nila 'Ang ganda ng gising ko, bigyan ko kaya ng mataas na sweldo ang manggagawa? Walang gano'n," he added.

[Can workers expect capitalists like Sherwin Gatchalian for contractualization to be abolished? To increase the salary? Could capitalists themselves wake up in the Senate, or in Malacañang or in Congress, wake up one day and say 'It's nice that I'm awake, what if I give the workers a high salary? There's no such thing as that.]

GMA News Online sought Gatchalian for comment but has yet to receive any as of posting time.

Interviewed by GMA News Online, Espiritu clarified he was not specifically taking aim at Gatchalian, but only cited him as an example of a capitalist in the Senate.

"He's just an example of the entire Senate... It's not personal to Sherwin Gatchalian. He's an example of a capitalist in the Senate, but he's not the only one," Espiritu said.

"I'm not zeroing in on him. The purpose is to tell the voters never trust or rely on the trapo (traditional politician). You rely on yourselves, you rely on your organizations and our mass leaders," he added.

For Espiritu, winning a seat in the Senate is not just simply about bringing the traditional demands of workers as a sector, but bringing the perspective of the workers in all issues affecting the society.

"If you take the point of view of a worker, you are for wealth tax, you are for taxing the billionaires, and you are for the abolition of these indirect taxes," he said. "You are for a wider democracy, you are for LGBTQ rights, you are for divorce, you are for the abolition or repeal of the anti-terror law."

Aside from Espiritu, senatoriables from the Leody De Guzman-Walden Bello tandem were David D'Angelo and Roy Cabongero. —NB, GMA News