Longtime activist Casiño to run for senator

Former Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casiño  —Joseph Vidal/Senate PRIB

MANILA, Philippines — Former Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casiño, a veteran activist, will run for senator in the 2025 elections, becoming the sixth candidate under the Makabayan Coalition’s 12-man Senate slate.

Casiño, who took a break from politics for more than a decade, called on Filipinos to end dynasties after he announced his plan on Wednesday at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani in Quezon City.

READ: Makabayan bloc aims to field full Senate slate in 2025 polls

“We can no longer allow political families and relatives [to] turn the Senate into a family business. Let us not vote anymore for candidates just because they are famous or pawns of other politicians,” he said.

Casiño said he decided to announce his political plans on Ninoy Aquino Day, saying the assassination of former Sen. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. was a turning point for him.

“From that time, with two Edsa revolutions, 13 elections, and countless protest actions, we have been a part of those actions. But here we are, continuing our fight,” he added.

A three-term representative for the Bayan Muna party list group, Casiño authored several laws, including the Public Attorneys Act of 2007, expanding free legal services to the poor, and the Rent Control Act of 2009, which puts a cap on rent for low-income earners. —Dempsey Reyes