Former speaker and Taguig-Pateros Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano on Tuesday, Oct 19 urged presidential candidates to put on top of their platform of governance the protection of Filipino values.
Cayetano made the appeal as he aired serious concern over the rise of online gambling that even gained strong support in the House of Representatives recently.
“Marami ang nagsasabi na di kasi nakakain ang values. Ako, tingin ko, baligtad. Kapag binalewala natin ang values, lalo tayong walang makakain. Doon tayo masisira (A lot of people are saying that we can’t eat values. For me, it’s the other way around. If we neglect our values, we won’t have anything to eat. It will ruin us.)” he said.
Cayetano is one of the principal authors of Republic Act 11476 that provided the revival of the subject Good Manners and Right Conduct and Values Education in the Department of Educations basic education curriculum.
Last month, he issued an appeal to the Lower House to allow further study and the holding of debates on legislative measures proposing to grant legislative franchises for two firms engaged in “online sabong (cockfight)”.
His request fell on deaf ears as the Committee on Legislative Franchises fastracked the approval of the bills.
On the other hand, no plenary debates were conducted despite the former House leader’s appeal which he formalized in a letter sent to Majority Leader and Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez.
Cayetano’s anti-gambling campaign is a key feature of his faith-based and values-oriented platform, which was previously linked to his initial plans to join the presidential race next year.
The lawmaker earlier said he was seriously considering running for President, but on October 1, he announced that he was no longer pursuing it because it would further divide the people.
On October 7, Cayetano declared his intention to run for Senator and filed his Certificate of Candidacy on the same day.