Party-list groups promise 16 M votes for 6 Senate bets

MANILA, Philippines - The 40-member Party-list Coalition in the House of Representatives promised yesterday to deliver 16 million votes to six senatorial candidates.

“We will work hard to win as much votes as we can for our candidates. Our target is 16 million,” Ako Bicol Rep. Rodel Batocabe, leader of the coalition, said yesterday.

Another leader, former congressman and An Waray chairman Florencio Noel, said, “We can do it because we have regional and national constituencies. In the case of An Waray, we have Waray and Visayan constituents not only in the Visayas but in Metro Manila and other parts of the country.”

For his part, Citizens Battle Against Corruption (CIBAC) Rep. Sherwin Tugna said their plan is to vote as a bloc for the six senatorial candidates they are supporting.

“We will not have a full slate. We will vote only for our candidates. The calculation in an electoral contest is that a vote for your candidate is a vote less for his opponent,” Tugna said.

Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez, one of six senatorial aspirants the Party-list Coalition is supporting, said he has no doubt that these grassroots organizations can deliver votes.

“I can speak for Eastern Visayas, the bailiwick of An Waray. This group has done so much for our region. It is no surprise that it continues to win votes good for two seats in Congress,” he said as he thanked the coalition of its endorsement.

The other senatorial hopefuls the coalition is supporting are Reps. Sherwin Gatchalian of Valenzuela City, Samuel Pagdilao of Anti-Crime and Terrorism through Community Involvement and Support and Cresente Paez of Cooperatives Network. It is also supporting former representatives Risa Hontiveros of Akbayan and Joel Villanueva of CIBAC.

As a bloc, the coalition is not supporting any presidential and vice presidential candidate.

The 15 biggest party-list groups received about 11 million votes in 2013. The largest group is Buhay, which won 1.3 million votes. It has three representatives led by former Manila mayor Lito Atienza.