Equal representation! ‘Out Of 24 Senators Dapat 12 From Visayas, Mindanao

There are only three Mindanaoans who are vying for a seat in the Philippine Senate this year – reelectionist Juan Miguel Zubiri, who is fairing well in the surveys, Samira Gutoc of Lanao del Sur and myself, who are both way down in latest surveys.

Pagkatapos ng May 2022 elections, kung si Migs Zubiri lang ang mananalo, only four Senators from Mindanao will be left to represent our region, including Aquilino Pimentel III, whose last term will end in 2025, and Christopher Lawrence Go and Ronald dela Rosa, whose first 6-year-term will end in 2025.

Senator Emmanuel Pacquiao will no longer serve as Senator whether he wins the Presidency or not because his first term ends this year.

Ang nakakalungkot pa nyan, patapos na rin ang termino ng first President from Mindanao, Rodrigo Roa Duterte.

Ideally, Mindanao should have at least 8 Senators representing the region which for so long had been neglected, especially in terms of projects and budget sharing.

All of these years, ang share ng Mindanao sa national budget pie had always been below 20% and it was only during the time of President Joseph Estrada when its share was over 30%.

Actually, mas louy ang Visayas kay mas gamay ang ilang share unya karong eleksyon, murag si re-electioist Loren Legarda lang ang magrepresentar sa rehiyon.

Mao ni ang usa sa mga advocacies nato for a long time now – to divide the country into Federal States para duna unta tay patas ng representasyon sa kauluhan.

There is a need to amend the Constitution to introduce political and economic reforms but of course Metro Manila based Senators will never allow this to happen.

Lugi gyud pirme ang mga probinsyano nga mga lideres nga gusto muserbisyo bilang Senador kay dehado ta sa mga artista ug mga politiko sa Metro Manila nga dunay constant exposure sa media.

Maski unsa pa ka guwapo sa atong programa, malumos ta sa sayaw ug kanta.

In the meantime, all that we need to is make sure that each region, Visayas and Mindanao specifically, would have a decent representation in the Senate.

My Senate bid, therefore is not only critical for the survival of the Agriculture and Fisheries Sector all over the country but also very important for Mindanao and the Visayas from where my forebears came.

#EqualRepresentationNeeded!