ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro (Rep. Castro's office)

ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro, who recently announced her plan to run for senator in next year’s mid-term elections, said the Makabayan bloc will field 12 candidates for its senatorial slate on the basis of shared principles.

“Mag fi-field tayo ng mga representante ng bawat sektor, lalong lalo na yung marginalized sector, ‘yung mga magsasaka, mangingisda, manggagawa, mga Indigenous People, urban poor, kababaihan, at mga professionals,” Castro said in a press conference on Thursday, July 4.

(We will field representatives of each sector, especially the marginalized sector, the farmers, fishermen, workers, Indigenous People, urban poor, women, and professionals.)

“Open kami, ang target talaga namin ay makabuo ng 12, pero open kami na may sumali sa amin,” she added.

(We are open, our target is to make 12, but we are open for others to join us.)

Castro said the Makabayan bloc is in discussion with other groups for the purpose of forming an opposition slate for the Senate. 

“Syempre yung magiging kaalyado namin yung with the same principles as us. Hindi yung dahil nakikipag-alyado ka lang dahil gusto mong manalo sa eleksyon, hindi ganoon. So, prinsipyado kaming makikipag-alyansa sa ibang mga partido on the basis of principle,” she  shared.

(Of course those with the same principles as us will be our allies. It's not creating allies just because you want to win the election, it's not like that. So, we will form an alliance with other parties on the basis of principle.)

Among these groups is the once-dominant Liberal Party (LP). She pointed out that the Makabayan bloc and the LP share the same stance on social issues.

Gabriela Women’s Party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas said the 2025 polls will be “crucial” for Makabayan as they plan to set up a genuine opposition to the camps of Marcos and Duterte.

“Open kami sa pakikipag-usap ng mga tunay na oposisyon, ‘yung alam namin na talagang titindig para sa ating mga mamamayan. At talagang para sa pagbabagong panlipunan, hindi yung panatilihin yung status quo na mayron tayo na hindi nakakapagsalita yung ordinaryong Pilipino,” said Brosas.

(We are open to talking with the real opposition, the ones we know will really stand up for our people. And they are really for social change and not to maintain the status quo that we have where ordinary Filipinos don’t have a voice.)

Last week, Castro accepted the call of retired teachers to run for senator to be the voice of the education sector in the upper chamber.

Both Castro and Brosas are on their third and final term as representatives of ACT Teachers and Gabriela, respectively, in the House of Representatives.