Left’s lone Senate bet gets share of star power

POPULAR TV host Boy Abunda, a native of Samar, is one of the latest show business figures to endorse the senatorial bid of the Left’s lone candidate, Teddy Casiño, along with dozens of other actors and actresses who have expressed support for the militant lawmaker. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO–

DIGOS CITY—Militant lawmaker Teddy Casiño knew from the start that endorsements from show biz personalities could bolster a candidate’s chances of winning an election.

But the Davao-born Bayan Muna representative has always admitted he has no money to pay for show biz personalities.

So when several artists and show biz players volunteered to endorse him, Casiño could only say “thank you.”

TV host and popular product endorser Boy Abunda said he supported Casiño’s senatorial bid because of the militant lawmaker’s “advocacy for the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) sector.”

Actor and singer-songwriter Chuckie Dreyfus said unlike other politicians, Casiño was serious about his advocacy for change.

Actor Pen Medina, in a video endorsing Casiño, said: “I have seen Teddy Casiño in protest rallies for a long time now. In Congress, I saw how good a person and a leader he is. He is for the ordinary people and for real change. That’s why in my list, Casiño is No. 1,” Medina said.

Popular movie director Joel Lamangan said on May 3, during the “Teddy Day,” among the politicians in the Senate and the House, Casiño was the only one “with real heart for the masses.”

“He represented the ordinary people,” Lamangan said.

Actor Jeffrey Santos, who also attended the “Teddy Day,” said “the nation needs someone like Casiño.”

“We do not need to shout for our rights, we do not need to fight for our future. There is a Teddy Casiño to do that for us,” Santos said.

Cabring Cabrera, lead singer of the band Datu’s Tribe, said he was supporting Casiño “because he is very unassuming, witty and easy to work with.” Kaiza Marie Nawal, Inquirer Mindanao