Espiritu, De Guzman give Senate another try to fight 'trapo'

Labor leaders Luke Espiritu and Leody De Guzman filed their certificates of candidacy (COCs) for senator on Thursday, 4 October.

This is Espiritu's second attempt at the Senate. He last ran in 2022 but was unsuccessful.

Meanwhile, De Guzman also tried to run for senator in 2019 but lost. In 2022, he ran for president, finishing 8th with 92,070 votes.

If he gets elected, Espiritu said he will fight political dynasties and traditional politics, stressing that the current state of the Philippine Senate is "nothing to be proud of" as they do not serve the interest of the common people.

"Ang ating Senado ay nagiging source of entertainment kung saan may senador na nagsasabi na importante ang kanyang urges, may mga senador na nag-aaway na parang mga high school, at hindi ito ang Senado na kailangan ng taumbayan (Our Senate is becoming a source of entertainment where there's a senator who says that his urges are important, there are senators who fight like high schoolers, and this is not the Senate that the people need)," he added

Espiritu was referring to Senator Robinhood Padilla's controversial "in heat" remark in the middle of a Senate hearing about marital rape.

Senators Miguel Zubiri and Alan Peter Cayetano nearly came into blows last month inside the Senate's session hall due to "miscommunication" and "misunderstanding."

"Kailangan ng isang Senado na dapat alisin ang kontrol ng mga dinastiya at mga trapo. Kailangan ng isang Senado na makamanggagawa at makamaralita, maging makakalikasan (We need a Senate that must remove the control of dynasties and rags. We need a Senate that is pro-worker, pro-poor, and pro-environment)," he added.

Currently, outgoing Senator Cynthia Villar and her son Mark have seats at the Senate. Cynthia's position is expected to be filled by her daughter, Camille.

Reelectionist Pia Cayetano and incumbent Senator Alan Peter Cayetano are also siblings, while Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada and Sen JV Ejercito are half-brothers.

There are also rumors that two Dutertes may run as senators.

"Umabot na tayo sa ganoong absurdity (We have reached that kind of absurdity) to such an extent na unchecked ang kanilang (their) exercise of power, these trapos (traditional politicians) and dynasties, they have already arrogated to themselves the privilege of idiotic and crazy," he added.

De Guzman, for his part, said he will try to secure a seat because "it seems like nothing has changed" for the ordinary people.

"Ang problema ng mahihirap, hanggang ngayong problema pa rin. Ang problema ng mga manggagawa sa mababang sahod, problema pa rin. Mataas na kuryente, mahal na bigas, baha, korapsyon, lahat ng problema noon ay siya pa ring problema noon (The problema of the poor is still there. The problem of low-wage workers is still there. High electricity, expensive rice, floods, corruption, we are still facing the same problems from the past)," he said.

De Guzman said he is also with Espiritu's fight against political dynasties and traditional politics.

"Itong mga political dynasty, trapo, at elite ay wala namang ginagawa sa problema ng bayan. Walang ginagawa sa kahilingan ng taumbayan, ang pinag-uukulan ng pansin at panahon nila ay resolbahin yung kanilang problema--ang pagkakaman ng kapangyarihan at yaman (These political dynasties, traditional politicians, and elites are not doing anything about the people's problems. They are not doing anything for the people, what they are focusing their attention and time on is solving their own problem--how they can acquire more power and wealth)," he added.

Espiritu and De Guzman will run under Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino.