Colmenares eyes Senate bid

Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares. INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO

He’s seriously considering a senatorial bid in 2016, Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares said Wednesday, adding that “groups had encouraged” him to aspire for higher office.

“I’m glad I am acceptable to diverse groups with diverse political persuasions,” said the party-list lawmaker and vocal government critic.

“But a senatorial run requires a lot of resources and we do not have that,” the senior deputy minority leader said, adding that “the difficulty of (running) without resources and the support of a slate… was one of the lessons (the party) learned” from the campaign of former Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casiño, who lost his Senate bid in 2013.

“But… many believe that I can make a difference because of my track record in advocating against corruption, pork barrel, high prices of electricity and other pro-people issues,” Colmenares said.

“Unlike the other candidates I have actually pre-empted the electricity rate hike through the Supreme Court temporary restraining order and actually battled against the pork barrel system,” he added.

On Tuesday, several groups and personalities including activist-actress Monique Wilson, chess grandmaster Eugene Torre, and singer-composer Gary Granada came out in support of Colmenares. TV-movie actress Angel Locsin, Angelica Colmenares in real life, also sent several family members, including her father, to support the congressman to whom she is related.