VOTE Today

This is a forwarded e-mail.

Why a vote for AKBAYAN still matters

Many people have been asking, "AKBAYAN is set to win again. Shouldn't I just give my vote to another partylist?"

AKBAYAN is elated over the 8.2% score it garnered in the latest SWS survey, only a .2% difference from Bayan Muna, the partylist obtaining the highest score. While an 8.2% score is well over the 6% needed to obtain three seats (1 seat = 2% of votes cast), a Supreme Court ruling has it that ONLY THE TOP PARTY LIST IS ENTITLED TO THREE SEATS. The second party list is entitled only to two seats, even if it garners more than 6%.

AKBAYAN needs your vote to bridge that .2% difference. AKBAYAN needs your vote for three seats. But why? Why three seats? Our track record will speak for itself.

In 2004, we were given three seats: Etta, Mayong and Risa. Not one of those seats went to waste. Etta as then-chair of the Human Rights Committee was a staunch advocate of human rights in the House -- author of the Marcos Compensation Bill, co-author of the Juvenile Justice Law and the Anti-Death pen Law. In the early part of her term, she was the ONLY representative who blew the whistle on the P100,000 heck given to congressmen to pass a law to privatize NAPOCOR.

Mayong, our second representative, tackled urban poor concerns, peace and development, and labor issues. It was Mayong's office that intervened in the scandalous Riles issue, where thousands of families would have been unlawfully demolished for a bogus contract. Mayong is also the author of the RIGHT TO SELF ORGANIZATION BILL (introducing amendments to the labor code to strengthen the right to unionize), approved in both upper and lower houses.

Risa, on the other hand, our third representatives, carried with her the voice of women and children -- filing bills on reproductive health, gender balance, and the heavily-supported anti-prostitution bill which treats prostituted women as victims and not criminals. Risa is the author of the CHEAPER MEDICINES BILL, which seeks to bring down the prices of medicine through parallel importation (People remember it for being the bill lawyers from Pfizer tried in vain to stop).

WE WORK AND WE WORK HARD. We have used our three seats in Congress well, and the consolidated work of our three representatives have resulted in real and concrete gains for all of us. Each AKBAYAN representative carries specific concerns and areas of specialization. There is no redundancy, only a synergy of efforts.

Cast your vote for the partylist with a solid track record and a coherent platform. Cast your vote for the consistent partylist that has denounced state-sponsored atrocities AND atrocities from the armed left.

Let the number one party list be the party list that has CLEARLY AND CATEGORICALLY denounced armed struggle.

ABOVE-GROUND. ABOVE-BOARD. ABOVE ALL ELSE: AKBAYAN.

Three seats (originally posted by jae, we just cant help ourselves from reposting this) :)

a.e.

Adonis Elumbre
Department of Social Sciences
University of the Philippines
Los Banos Laguna