Party list contender to voters: Choose who ‘you think is deserving’

FINAL CHECK Leighmae Ciedel De Asis (right), an assistant at the Commission on Elections, turns over election paraphernalia to Nerissa Colasito, supervising support staff of the Department of Education, at Jose Abad Santos Elementary School in Binondo, Manila, amid final preparations on Sunday for the midterm elections. —Grig C. Montegrande

MANILA, Philippines — The past three months have been an uphill climb for opposition party list Mamamayang Liberal (ML), which has been struggling to gain traction amid the myriad choices on the ballot.

Nevertheless, its lead nominee, former Sen. Leila de Lima, is hoping for a last-minute boost not only from supporters of the Liberal Party (LP) and allies from progressive groups, but also from the ordinary people ML has come across on the campaign trail.

“We really struggled with awareness of ML because we’re just starting to introduce our party list,” said De Lima. “But later on during the campaign more and more people [were] getting to know us.”

READ: With 156 party list groups, voting wisely far from easy

Regarding her fellow two nominees, former congressmen and fellow LP stalwarts Erin Tañada and Teddy Baguilat, De Lima said they “are very much capable, we have the right background, we have the track record especially when it comes to lawmaking.”

Vicious campaign

ML was established as the multi-sectoral arm of the LP, which once constituted a supermajority during the administration of President Benigno Aquino III before it was decimated by the bandwagon of his successor Rodrigo Duterte.

Aquino, who died in 2021, was hounded in the latter part of his administration by issues directly affecting the public, from extortion at the airport to poor public transportation to the fallout of the Mamasapano antiterror operation which claimed the lives of 44 police operatives.

Vowing strong leadership, Duterte rose amid that backlash, but upon being elected in 2016, focused his efforts on a vicious campaign against illegal drugs which he claimed would solve the country’s peace and order situation in six months.

Crucial arena

Then Senator De Lima, a leading critic of Duterte’s controversial human rights record, was slapped with drug charges and detained on Duterte’s watch for much of his term as president.

De Lima now returns to politics but in the smaller if still crucial arena of the party list race.

She said she hopes to bring back the original aim of the party list system to advocate for the marginalized.

But in the polls and in the disorder of the campaign, ML faces an uphill battle against party list groups controlled by dynasties and Duterte supporters who, in interviews, have not bothered to conceal their plain legislative agenda of revenge.

“Let’s not be swayed by surveys,” De Lima said. “Let’s vote for whoever you think is deserving and who could genuinely represent and fight for the interest, welfare and well-being of our marginalized sectors.”

If ever ML makes it to the 20th Congress, De Lima said the group would prioritize legislation on judicial reform, social justice and reforms in the party list system itself.

“My message to those who might still be hesitant to vote for us is that you can rest assured that your votes would not be wasted on us,” she said. /cb