Senate Minority Leader Alan Cayetano. FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines – Senate Minority Leader Alan Cayetano kicked off his senatorial campaign on Tuesday with a meeting with vendors of Pritil Market in Tondo, Manila.
Cayetano, who is running under the administration ticket, said he chose to launch his campaign in the market place because he wanted to give the country the true picture of what he was fighting for, which is embodied in his platform called PiTik or Presyo, Trabaho, Kita.
“This campaign is not about me. It is about the people we are fighting for,” he said in a statement.
With his PiTiK platform, Cayetano said he would propose to lower prices of goods and services, create more jobs, and increase wages to improve the livelihoods of those who are struggling.
“These are the primary needs of the people that need to be addressed. These are the issues that are at the root of our country’s social, economic and political woes,” he said.
He said his discussion with market vendors revealed the primary concerns of this sector: (1) consumers cannot afford the prices of market goods; (2) no matter how high the economic progress is said to be by the government, these people still remain jobless; and (3) people have no choice but to borrow money and eventually become buried in debt because they don’t have enough to make ends meet.
“We wanted to go to the grassroots where people can tell us whether they feel the government’s much-touted progress or not,” said the senator.
Cayetano said his platform is the next step in his good governance advocacy.
“This administration has brought down corruption in the path of tuwid na daan (straight path). Now, we have to address the needs of the people. They should feel the progress brought about by the drop in graft and corruption,” he said.
Despite his decision to launch his campaign in the market place, Cayetano assured that no sector or group would be left behind or ignored.
He said he plans to take his consultation campaign to rural markets as well as to other sectors like manufacturing.
“While it is true that I am launching my campaign here in the market place, my vision and my goals are not limited to this sector alone. PiTiK addresses the need of every Filipino in the country – from CEOs down to the people in the slums,” Cayetano added.