MANILA, Philippines – The left-leaning Makabayan bloc started the campaign period for the 2025 elections with house-to-house visits in various parts of Metro Manila and in other provinces on Tuesday, February 11.
The coalition is doing a first since it started participating in the senatorial race in 2010 — it is fielding a near-complete slate of 11 senatorial aspirants.
“We want to make it clear that our campaign is different from the traditional campaign that relies on billions of pesos in government funds. While traditional politicians will spend billions on media ads, Makabayan will go to different corners of the country to directly reach and talk to our fellow citizens. We will go house to house, visit markets, terminals, and schools,” the group said in a joint statement read during a send-off activity at Kartilya ng Katipunan in Manila.
The group began the day with that small rally, after which the senatorial aspirants dispersed to woo voters in areas assigned to them.
Making the rounds in the Philippine capital on Tuesday are:
- ACT Teachers Representative France Castro, who was scheduled to meet with fellow teachers in two public schools, before visiting a public market in the afternoon
- Transport leader Mody Floranda, who was scheduled to join a mini-motorcade of a local tricycle group in Sampaloc
- Labor leader Jerome Adonis, who was scheduled to join pier workers in Parola, Tondo
- Fisherfolk leader Ronnel Arambulo, who was set to visit the Baseco community
- Nurse Alyn Andamo, who was scheduled to meet with health workers in different hospitals in the city
Some senatorial candidates, meanwhile, chose Quezon City to welcome the start of the campaign period, namely:
- Gabriela Representative Arlene Brosas
- Teddy Casiño and urban poor leader Mimi Doringo, who were scheduled to join Bayan Muna in its house-to-house campaign in the city
Peasant leader Danilo Ramos began his campaign in his hometown Malolos in Bulacan, while former Gabriela lawmaker Liza Maza and Moro leader Amirah Lidasan are in Cagayan de Oro to attend the assembly of the local chapter of Bayan Muna there.
Later in the day, the coalition will hold rallies in two communities, one in Manila, and another in Quezon City.
Makabayan has long been a juggernaut in the party-list election since its entry to the race in 2001, relying on its solid base of supporters to secure seats in the House of Representatives, but it has not succeeded in penetrating the Senate, since it first fielded Liza Maza and Satur Ocampo in 2010.
The latest pre-election survey from pollster Pulse Asia shows none of the 11 candidates has a fighting chance to make it to the Senate. Its strongest candidate, Castro, only has 1.9% of respondents saying they will vote for her.
“We will not stop, we have 90 days. We will do this every day to improve our surveys,” Brosas said.
“Let’s change what’s in the Senate, because in the Senate, it’s all about politics of faces, of personalities, which we don’t need. What we need are good programs for the improvement of the people’s situation,” she added.
The leftist coalition, which does not have a well-oiled political machinery, pitches itself to the electorate as an alternative option to well-entrenched political families that have dominated the upper chamber, pointing out that its slate is composed of leaders, including blue-collar workers, who have a grassroots understanding of the everyday realities of ordinary Filipinos. – Rappler.com
