For a new and better Senate (Sabong News)

For a country of over 100 million, the Senate with its membership of only 24 senators could really be one of the most exclusive clubs in the world. The conventional wisdom is that senators could only come from traditional politicians and celebrities. But that could be mainly due to two things: their national popularity and the immense resources — money and connections — at their disposal. This is obvious in the results of the slates of the major presidential contenders and pre-election senatorial surveys. Traditional politicians and celebrities dominate them. To be honest, it might take nothing short of a revolutionary situation to change the current status of the race. The last time a lot of relatively-new names entered the Senate was in 1987, only a year after the People Power uprising. 2022 could be a landmark election if Vice President Leni Robredo scores a huge upset win over the perennial frontrunner: the scion of the dictator ousted by the uprising. The mammoth “pink” rallies and the defections of traditional politicians to her side could be omens of good things to come. It would have been great if her senatorial slate was truly new in most aspects and reflected the broadest united front of forces battling the Marcos-Duterte tandem. Many or most of Robredo’s followers seek to stop the frontrunner in a grand manner and also usher in a new hope for the country. This high sense of politics — new politics and the politics of hope — was in full display when her followers expressed shock and dismay upon seeing that Robredo’s senatorial slate was riddled by the old politicos of the type that could only be described as “more of the same.” Here are my choices which I would offer to friends seeking to have more options than usual. Some of them I personally know. On top of my list, and maybe on yours too, are the three Labor Vote candidates: Makabayan’s Elmer Labog and Neri Colmenares, and 1Sambayan’s Sonny Matula. Labog is chair of the Kilusang Mayo Uno, while Matula heads the Federation of Free Workers. They are partners in the broad labor movement in the country. Why choose advocates when we can have labor leaders themselves as senators? Outstanding both in the House of Representatives and the Parliament of the Streets, we could only expect the best from a Senator Colmenares. Of the three, Labog is the first-timer in the senatorial races. “Ka Bong” is easy to like and admire: A son of Nueva Vizcaya, a provincial scholar, first took up forestry at UPLB before shifting to biology in UP Diliman, a student activist who fought the dictatorship, a working student, a bartender and later bar captain, labor organizer, and currently the youngest-ever chair of the country’s most progressive labor center. Matula proudly campaigns for Labog and Colmenares at “pink” rallies. The three of them are all part of the 1Sambayan senatorial slate. Three women are next on my list: Samira Gutoc, Carmen Zubiaga and Dr. Minguita Padilla. Gutoc is perhaps the top choice to represent the Bangsamoro in the Senate. Zubiaga should be in the Senate to represent persons with disabilities. Padilla seeks to shake Philhealth to its corrupt core, and to champion the proper compensation and welfare of our health workers. The final three of new names I would wish to see in the Senate: Chel Diokno, Teddy Baguilat and David D’Angelo. Diokno would be a valuable voice in the Senate for the defense of human rights, and a champion in improving the corrupt justice system. Teddy Baguilat hopes to represent the proud people of the Kaigorotan and other national minorities in the face of neoliberal attacks on their identities, land and lives. D’Angelo hopes to put the climate crisis on top of the national agenda. I’m also voting for three veterans who I think deserve to continue their service as senators: Leila de Lima, Risa Hontiveros and Joel Villanueva. They could be the best mentors for the newbies. They could enrich their knowledge by learning from the newbies’ wealth of experience in the professions and in advocacy. Having these nine newbies as new senators would be a fresh change in Philippine politics. Many of them are independent-minded and mavericks, which the country needs to give hope to our people. Together with veterans, they would be a force to reckon with in a new and better Senate under any president.