‘Someone like me’: Working class folks gunning for a Senate seat
MANILA, Philippines — While the Commission on Elections (Comelec) candidacy filing typically attracts traditional politicians and the occasional self-proclaimed spacemen, one can also see a handful of regular people who are eager to make a change in their different fields.
On the first day of the certificate of candidacy (COC) filing alone, the public saw a carpenter, a teacher, a security guard and many others who believe they can serve their constituents.
This is Security Guard Phil delos Reyes’ second time to file his COC. Delos Reyes went viral in 2021 when he tried to run for a senate position, but was dismissed by the Comelec as a nuisance candidate.
This time, Delos Reyes hopes that people like him, who do not have much in life, will be given the chance to run.
"Bigyan sana ng karapatan yung mga taong katulad ko," Delos Reyes said. (I hope someone like me gets this right.)
Carpenter and electrician Alexander Encarnacion is running for a national position for a third time. His first attempt was for Senate and his second was for president. Both times, he was dismissed as a nuisance candidate.
Encarnacion said his "Laser Corruption Super Fortress" is an innovation that could help eliminate crime, but he provided few details on what the system entails or how it would work.
Unlike Delos Reyes and Encarnacion, this is Janice Padilla’s first time filing her candidacy. Padilla is a former teacher from Bicol. She appeared nervous amid the bright lights of the dozens of cameras trained on her. Nonetheless, she excitedly told the media that she wanted to advance measures that would help educators and students.
“Talagang maraming kulang kasi. 'Yung guro 'di ba, 'yung sineswledo nila, kinukuha pa doon 'yung learning materials para sa kabataan,” Padilla said.
(There are so many shortages. Teachers, the money they make, they use it for the learning materials of the children.)
Padilla also wanted to repeal former Education Secretary and Vice President Sara Duterte’s “Catch-up Friday” policy. The initiative required students and teachers to devote their Fridays entirely to reading, but Padilla said that there should be more focus on actual teaching.
Candidates like Padilla, Encarnacion and Delos Reyes often lack the same political machinery as the average traditional politician. They are neither widely known nor do they have the funds needed to mount a national campaign.
The Comelec has previously received criticisms for dismissing such candidates as nuisance ones, despite the aspirants’ best intentions.
Norman Marquez, an animal rights advocate, has had his candidacy blocked by the Comelec in both the 2019 and the 2022 elections.
Marquez challenged Comelec both times in the Supreme Court—and won.
The animal rights advocate is now back for the 2024 filing of the COC, where he hopes to gain a Senate seat. If elected, Marquez said he would create more bills to educate pet owners and create better living conditions for animals in pounds.
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