All odds seem stacked against them in the May 12 elections, but the Left-leaning Makabayan senatorial candidates are unfazed. After all, their sights are set on gains beyond the midterm polls.
“We want to challenge the prevailing narrative na ‘pag magsasaka ka, ‘pag jeepney driver ka, hanggang diyan ka lang (that if you’re a farmer, if you’re a jeepney driver, you can only remain in those roles). Ang sa’min (For us), why is there a limitation? These people represent the biggest sectors of society,” campaign manager Renato Reyes Jr. demanded.
For the 11 men and women of the Makabayan slate, elections are not the end-all and be-all of their aspirations and desired political changes in the country. Their ultimate goal is to achieve national democracy “by dismantling oppressive and exploitative social structures,” Reyes stressed.
The Makabayan Coalition is composed of party-lists Bayan Muna, Gabriela, ACT Teachers and Kabataan that have been consistent opposition voices in the lower house across several administrations.
Its senatorial bets are:
- Rep. France Castro, ACT Teachers Party-list
- Ronald “Jerome” Adonis, Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) secretary general
- Jocelyn “Alyn” Andamo, former Filipino Nurses United secretary general
- Ronnel Arambulo, Pamalakaya vice chairperson
- Rep. Arlene Brosas, Gabriela Party-list representative
- Teodoro “Teddy” Casiño, former Bayan Muna Party-list representative
- Eufemia “Mimi” Doringo, Kadamay secretary general
- Modesto “Mody” Floranda, PISTON national chairperson
- Amirah “Mek” Lidasan, Sandugo co-chairperson
- Liza Maza, former Bayan Muna Party-list representative and Gabriela Party-list representative
- Danilo Ramos, Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas chairperson
Results of the latest Social Weather Stations survey on senatorial preferences last April ranked Castro at number 30 with 4% of the votes from the respondents, the highest in the Makabayan bloc. She has consistently topped the ranking of the others on her slate, but her placement has been going down since January where she ranked at 25 (4%).
Makabayan’s strategists and candidates pay no mind to these metrics.
“We’re not in the least bothered by the survey results. Our goals are different from the other traditional politicians,” Reyes stressed.
Dismissing opinion polls, he explained that his team prefers to measure impact based on the support they garner for key issues and the number of people who join organizations that back their advocacies even after the elections.
Reyes, along with the candidates, describe the coalition as a “people’s opposition” not hinged on specific names, allegiances or administrations like the current political system but the strength of the constituents.
“Changes in the political system will not happen in a couple of elections. We need to build our own power. But it’s a very long process, so we have to organize with different sectors,” Reyes admitted.
Although Makabayan recognizes that it is playing a losing game amid a political environment dominated by familiar, moneyed names, KMU’s Adonis said the slate will not surrender without a fight so as not to disappoint the communities and supporters who have pinned their hopes on them.
Of the so-called Magic 12 in the April survey, two bets are from the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino slate backed by former president Rodrigo Duterte; nine are from the administration’s Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas slate; and one is independent candidate and broadcaster Bienvenido “Ben” Tulfo. Eight of these bets are from political dynasties, another eight are either returning senators or seeking reelection, and three previously held other government positions..
Andamo, a nurse who has dedicated 42 years serving rural communities, expressed frustration at the survey results. She said, “Nakakadismaya kung ganitong mga klaseng tao ang mailuluklok natin sa Senado (I’m dismayed if these are the kind of people we’ll elect in the Senate).”
She doesn’t mind losing as long as her team is able to offer an alternative to the traditional politics that dominate public service in the country.
“Malaking bagay na naging bahagi ako kasi inaalok namin sa taumbayan ang isang bagong pulitika, na hindi na kailangang pumili ng lesser evil,” she explained.
(It’s a big opportunity to have participated in this campaign because we offered a new kind of politics to the nation, where they don’t have to choose the lesser evil).
This was echoed by PISTON national chairman Floranda whose platform is focused on mass transit modernization and developing national industries. He said, “Sana tuloy-tuloy tayo na susuportahan [ng mga tao]. Hindi lang natin ipinaglalaban ang pambansang industriyalisasyon para maging bahagi ng Senado kundi dahil interes ito ng mga driver at operator.”
Makabayan’s losing streak
The Coalition has yet to win in the Senate race although it has fielded a few candidates since 2010. In the coming polls, Reyes said the time is right for a near-complete slate.
“Sa nakaraan, tig-iisang kandidato [ang pinapatakbo namin noon]. That is too conservative lalo na nakikita ang kakayahan ng Makabayan na maging potent force for change (In the past, [we only fielded] one candidate at a time. That is too conservative since Makabayan has become a potent force for change),” Castro, who is House deputy minority leader, added.
Castro, a three-term congresswoman, was the first on the ticket to announce her run on June 26, 2024. She, Gabriela Party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas and Kabataan Party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel make up the Makabayan bloc in the lower house. All three are primary proponents of the impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte.
Reyes explained that the Makabayan candidates were selected based on nominations from the coalition’s allied groups spanning different sectors but they were able to come up with only 11.
Leading with the tagline “Taumbayan sa Senado,” the Coalition is out to prove that their bets can walk the talk by fielding community leaders and working class people, including a nurse pushing for accessible healthcare, a farmer and fisherman advocating for agrarian reform and food security, and a Moro leader highlighting indigenous people’s rights.
“Iba pa rin ‘pag galing sa sektor mismo ang nagsusulong ng batas. Sa experience namin, kailangan talaga pukpukan sa Senado para maipasa [ang ibang mga batas],” said Castro, who was a mathematics teacher for 25 years before becoming a lawmaker in 2016.
She cited, for instance, the Teaching Supplies Allowance Law or Republic Act No. 11997 which was signed on May 31, 2024, a good 13 years after it was filed by the ACT Teachers Party-list in 2011.
Before becoming a full-time organizer for the labor union KMU in 2002, Adonis, on the other hand, worked odd jobs in construction, manufacturing and transportation. He is campaigning to provide genuine representation for workers in the Senate.
“Nais kong malaman ng mga tao na may isang manggagawa na nagkaroon ng lakas na loob na iangat ang laban sa eleksyon (I want people to know that a laborer had the guts to bring his advocacy to the elections stage),” he said.
Reaching people where they are
The Makabayan campaign trail has brought them to wet markets, transport terminals, tribal ancestral lands, picket lines, schools and wherever there are people who “aren’t often reached by national politicians.” Outside the societies, members of the Coalition are seen rallying in the streets or getting into heated exchanges with controversial public figures, often those aligned with the Duterte and Marcos camps.
“Akala ng mga tao tumatakbo kami sa local positions at ngayon lang sila nakakita ng mga kumakandidatong senador. Nakaka-inspire din ito sa’min ( People thought we were running for local positions. They had only then seen candidates campaigning for the Senate in their area. This inspires us, too),” said Castro, who was particularly moved by the experiences shared by fisherfolk communities in Southern Luzon.
In Mindanao, the Makabayan bets were initially met with curiosity more than aggression.
“Naghanda kami paano sasagot dahil balwarte ng mga Duterte, pero gulat kami kasi warm yung mga tao (We prepared how we’ll answer knowing that this was the Dutertes’ bailiwick, but we were surprised because the people were very warm),” Adonis shared.
The pains of advocating for change
The coalition’s mission of forwarding social justice has not been without pushback. Nearly all of their bets have been associated with the New People’s Army, the communist armed group, and received death threats even before the campaign period began in February.
“Natatakot din ako sa aking seguridad, lalo na’t ang mga nagbabanta at nagre-red-tag sa’kin ay may kakayanan, may impluwensiya, kayang pumatay (I’m also afraid for my safety especially because the people who threaten and red-tag me have the means, have the influence, are capable of killing,” Castro shared.
While visiting indigenous groups in Mindoro and Palawan which face land grabbing threats, the Makabayan bets learned that they were being closely watched by suspicious individuals.
“Mula sa pinanggalingan namin hanggang sa tinutulugan namin, sinusundan kami ng mga intel (From where our campaign activities took place until our accommodations, we were followed by people we suspected to be intelligence officers), Floranda revealed.
The former FX driver was also receiving death threats from certain influencers as he became more visible in the campaign to suspend the government’s jeepney modernization program.
‘Inherent disadvantage’
Since mounting a successful electoral campaign means spending millions of pesos, Makabayan has placed their trust in fellow laborers and supporters to sustain their operations.
Floranda, overwhelmed by the support from his fellow transport workers, said. “Ang mga driver, nag-iipon ng tig-lilimang piso araw-araw para makagawa tayo ng mga poster, makapagpagawa ng mga tarpaulin. Nakakaikot kami dahil sa tulong ng mga indibidwal at grupo (Some drivers set aside P5.0 every day to help pay for posters and tarpaulins. We’re able to go around for the campaign because of the help from these individuals and groups).”
Regional chapters and allied organizations would also join the campaign across different locations, providing accommodation and other logistical support.
Political analyst and Associate Professor at the University of the Philippines Alicor Panao noted that progressive candidates such as those in Makabayan are at an inherent disadvantage because of the conservative values of Filipino voters, which is against left-leaning ideology.
The 2017 to 2022 wave of the World Values Survey, an international research project that measured where countries aligned on social, economic, political and cultural values and how these have changed over time, also revealed that more Filipinos identified as centrist and right-leaning than left-leaning.
On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 1 being extreme left and 10 the extreme right), 62.3% of respondents identified themselves as on the political right, 23.5% placed themselves at the center and 14.2% associated with the political left.
“Rational naman ang botante at pumipili [ng kandidato] batay sa kung ano ang nagre-resonate sa kanila (Voters are rational and elect [candidates] based on what resonates with them),” said Panao, who is also convenor of the UP Program on Social and Political Change Center for Integrative and Development Studies.
But what tends to resonate with voters aside from cultural values, he added, are conventional standards such as if candidates are incumbents, well known or already have a track record in government.
But Makabayan’s 11 warriors are defiant.
“Ang mahalaga, tinry natin. Lumaban tayo para may chance na manalo, kesa ‘yung pag-iisip na dominated na ang politics kaya susuko na lang (What’s important is that we tried. That we fought for a chance to win, rather than be discouraged that politics is already dominated and just surrender),” Adonis insisted.
