A personal appeal for the May 10 elections

Dear Friends,

This Monday, we go to the polls to elect a new set of officials for our country. Let us take this opportunity to vote into office progressive leaders whose integrity is beyond doubt; whose commitment to serve our people and readiness to sacrifice self-interest for the common good is matched by their track record.

For partylist, please vote Bayan Muna (number 122 on the ballot).

I am currently one of Bayan Muna's representatives in Congress and, with your support, hope to serve for a third and final term. My fellow nominees, Atty. Neri Colmenares and Atty. Joven Laura, are brilliant lawyers who have chosen the less trodden path of human rights and public interest lawyering. Together, we shall continue to be a voice of the marginalized and underrepresented sectors in Congress, advocates of genuine reform and social change, and examples of righteous, principled and competent leadership.

For senator, please vote (37) Satur Ocampo  and (33) Liza Maza .

I have worked with Satur and Liza in Congress for the past six years. They are exemplary public servants with unblemished and proven track records of serving the poor and oppressed. They are leaders whose integrity are intact and whose principles cannot be bought. They are a much needed voice in a senate dominated by traditional politicians and representatives of the ruling elites.

More importantly, let us vote Bayan Muna for partylist, and Satur Ocampo and Liza Maza for senators because they embody the kind of politics that this country desperately needs - the politics of change. Their nationalist and democratic platform includes:

1. Economic reform based on an equitable redistribution of wealth and the protection and development of the local economy (primarily through genuine agrarian reform, national industrialization, progressive taxation, budget reprioritization and reform);
2. The full respect for human rights and democratic rights of our people;
3. Assertion of national sovereignty and independence from foreign domination and control;
4. Fighting corruption and the systematic plunder of the national coffers and the national economy and patrimony;
5. A comprehensive and negotiated resolution of the armed conflicts through peace talks.

For more information, you may visit the following sites: http://bayanmuna.net/ and http://www.makabayan.org.ph/

Once again, I appeal to you to assert your power to change the status quo. Iboto po natin ang mga subok na makabayan at makamasa: Bayan Muna partylist sa Kongreso, Satur Ocampo at Liza Maza sa Senado.

Maraming salamat po.


Teddy Casiño
Partylist Representative, Bayan Muna