INQUIRER.NET / CHRISTIA RAMOS
The Oposisyon Koalisyon (OK) has formally announced its candidates for the 2019 midterm elections to gain traction especially since they are at a disadvantage, reelectionist Senator Bam Aquino said.
“Mahalagang mapakilala na sa taumbayan itong mga kasama natin sa koalisyon. Dehado kami so gusto natin mapakilala ‘yung mga hinahangad natin dito,” Aquino said after the OK’s presentation of its candidates on Wednesday in Marikina.
“So here, we’re showing eight individuals na sa tingin namin ay maipagmamalaki, may mga gustong gawin para sa ating bayan, may mga pangarap para sa ating bayan,” he added.
The senator refrained from comparing OK’s line-up with that of ruling party PDP-Laban and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte’s Hugpong ng Pagbabago, which includes most of the candidates with high survey ratings.
“Sa eleksyong ito, mas madaling i-presenta ‘yung mga kasama mo sa taong bayan. Right now what’s important for us, imbes na pagka-abalahan natin ‘yung nasa kabilang partido, palagay ko ang pinaka-magandang stratehiya ay ipakilala nang maayos itong walong kasama natin,” Aquino explained.
“Hinihikayat namin ang taumbayan na tignan itong mga kasama natin sa koalisyon, mga taong maipagmamalaki at nararapat sa Senado,”
OK is a team-up of the Liberal Party (LP), Akbayan, Magdalo, Aksyon Demokratiko, Tindig Pilipinas, and other cause-oriented groups.
Aside from Aquino, OK’s senatorial slate consists of human rights lawyer Jose Manuel Diokno, former Rep. Erin Tañada, former Bangsamoro Transition Committee member Samira Gutoc, former Solicitor General Florin Hilbay, Magdalo Rep. Gary Alejano, election lawyer Romulo Macalintal, and former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas II.
Recent surveys of Pulse Asia show that only Roxas had the closest chance to make it to the Magic 12, ranking from 11 to 17. Aquino is the closest to Roxas’ rank, at 18 to 23.
Despite these results, LP Chair and Vice President Leni Robredo reminded both candidates and supporters who attended the event that she was once deemed to have a slim chance of winning the vice presidency.
“Yung walo na siguro hindi masyadong kilala, marami po yung nagsasabi napakahirap ng laban nila kasi mas makapangyarihan, mas kilala yung kanilang mga kalaban,” Robredo said.
“Ako na siguro yung pinakamalaking halimbawa. Nung ako ay kumakandidato noong 2016, lahat nagsasabi wala raw kapag-a-pagasa. Nag-umpisa ako na one percent. Pero dahil sa pagkakaisa natin, dahil sa tulong niyong lahat, naging posible ‘yong one percent,” she noted. /cbb