Multi-sectoral party-list Angat Pinoy has made no bones about the top two leaders in the country that they would prefer to work with should it win a seat in the House of Representatives this May.
Anthony del Rosario, chairman emeritus of Angat Pinoy, said their group hopes to work with presidential candidate, former senator Bongbong Marcos and his running mate Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, in case they also win in the upcoming polls.
Comprising the so-called UniTeam, Marcos and Duterte have been consistent frontrunners in various surveys for the position of president and vice president, respectively.
The party-list's preference has much to do with Del Rosario connecton with Duterte. They both hail from down south, with the former being an ex-Davao del Norte governor.
He also used to be the spokesman of Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP)--the regional party that sees the presidential daughter as its figurehead.
“We hope to work with them para umangat talaga ang mga buhay ng mga Pinoy sa susunod na administrasyon (so that the lives of Filipinos would truly be uplifted during the next administration),” Del Rosario said.
Angat Pinoy said it will focus on six sectors: micro, small, and medium businesses (MSMEs), women groups, senior citizens, perrsons with disabilities (PWDs), youth, and overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
Del Rosario said if given a seat in the lower chamber, Angat Pinoy will file pieces of legislation targeted to help these sectors improve their lives.
He vowed to file laws that would address the current lack of capacity-building for MSMEs.
“Ang binibigay ng gobyernong tulong sa kanila ay puro loan, pero wala silang collateral na magagamit para makapagloan sa mga bangko (All the help that government gives them is through loans, but they don't have the necessary collateral to acquire loans from banks). We need to be creative in order to provide them funding," he said.
There is also a need to arrest the low enrolment rate in schools, according to Del Rosario.
"For the simple reason of lack of financial resources, marami pa rin sa mga kabataan ngayon ang hindi pumapasok kahit na libre na edukasyon sa bansa (a lot of our youth don't go to school even if there's free education in the country),” he pointed out.
The group noted that even the youth go to schools, they lack the means to buy books; and for those in colleges, the fees for dormitories and other essentials.
For PWDs, Del Rosario said there is a need to expand their benefits from what they are currently receiving. "They should not also be discriminated and given easy access to most buildings and establishments," he said.