De Guzman: Government media should help bets bring platform to the public
MANILA, Philippines — Partido Lakas ng Masa presidential candidate Leody de Guzman wants the government to organize events to introduce candidates to the public, to help bets with fewer resources campaign.
In a taped interview with One PH’s Kandidatalks, de Guzman said he believes this could level the playing field among candidates vying for an elected government position.
“Dapat bawal na gumastos ang kandidato sa eleksyon, gumamit ng pribadong pera. Gobyerno ang magpakilala sa mga kandidato,” de Guzman said in the interview that aired Tuesday.
(Candidates should not be allowed to spend or use money from the private sector on the elections. It should be the government spending on introducing the candidates.)
The labor leader said the government should use state-sponsored stations in radio and television to give a platform to election candidates.
He said the state should also be the one to coordinate with mainstream media to give airtime to each of those vying for a public position.
"Ipagbawal na rin ang pagkuha ng mga kandidato ng mga watcher, kasi vote buying ‘yun e. Kung ako ‘yung bilyonaryo, kukuha ako ng 2 milyon na watchers nationwide, boto ko na yun 2 milyon na hindi kaya ng katulad ni Leody na galing sa sektor," de Guzman said.
(We should also ban the practice of getting watchers for candidates, that’s vote buying. If I was a billionaire, I would hire two million watchers nationwide, that would account for two million votes which people like Leody cannot afford.)
Relating to the everyday Filipino
Early in the interview, de Guzman admitted that while his presidential campaign is going well, he does not have the budget that the other candidates have.
He said that his campaign is doing better than it did at the beginning when he filed his candidacy before the Commission of Elections. The labor leader said people taunted him, saying he would be better off if he ran for barangay-level positions instead.
“In-endure ko naman lahat lang iyun dahil alam kong hindi naman ako kilala… Tsaka first time na mayroong labor leader na tumakbo kaya may ganoong pagtingin sila.)
(I endured everything because I know the public is not familiar with me… And it’s the first time that a labor leader ran [for the presidency] so there’s that perception.)
In January, de Guzman was snubbed by the presidential interviews hosted by the GMA Network.
Multi-awarded journalist Jessica Soho was supposed to interview the top five presidential aspirants according to pre-election surveys. Frontrunner Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. turned down the opportunity to join, claiming without proof that Soho is biased against the Marcos family.
PLM instead hosted its own Facebook livestream where de Guzman provided his own commentary and answered questions from netizens.
Dahil hindi ako naimbitahan sa Presidential Interviews ni @KM_Jessica_Soho ng @GMA_PA, ako ay magla-live sa https://t.co/TsQ7Ppjt4o mamayang 6:15PM para sagutin ang mga tanong na ibabato sa ibang kandidato para maipresenta ko sa publiko ang aking mga pananaw, tindig at plataporma
— Ka Leody de Guzman (@LeodyManggagawa) January 22, 2022
De Guzman credited the rise of his 'labor first' campaign to recent television interviews. He believes that the public, especially the everyday workers and the farmers, can relate to his platform.
The labor leader is eyeing the top post in Malacañan, campaigning to raise the country’s minimum wage to P750, impose a 20% wealth tax on the country’s top 500, and prioritize reviving the country’s local industries to provide more jobs to the Filipino people, among others. — Kaycee Valmonte
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