The recent presidential debates held in Cagayan de Oro City generated a lot of buzz in social media and we’re not really surprised there because it’s the first debate organized by the Commission on Elections after more than two decades, so interest was really high. All five major contenders were present, and while the people were able to take a glimpse of each one’s agenda, platform and character, many were also disappointed because they expected a more engaging format and an in-depth discussion of the issues. Many also frowned at the attempts of Mike Enriquez at humor, saying they found his double entendre disturbing and inappropriate.
Many would disagree with what we said, most especially the followers of the each presidentiable whose perceptions would be colored by their loyalties. If you ask the supporters, his or her candidate came out the winner. Oh well, the most entertaining part for many was the Rodrigo Duterte-Miriam Santiago love fest, and it appears we now have a new social media political love team that could give AlDub a run for their money—DuRiam.
For sure, the two could do the rounds in talk shows or speaking engagements and they would have a captive audience. There seems to be some chemistry between Mayor Digong and Senator Miriam—both are feisty, witty and they do not really subscribe to political correctness since they can be uncomfortably blunt. DuRiam for the win—kinda has a cute ring to it, don’t you think?
Aksyon, hindi salita!
This is the battle cry of ACTS OFW party list, a broad coalition of land-based and sea-based OFW organizations and individuals who share a similar concern for the welfare of overseas Filipino workers. Founded and formally adopted as a coalition in August 2010, ACTS OFW—which has been duly accredited by the Comelec to participate this coming May elections—boasts of more than 200,000 card-bearing members who are mostly retired or former OFWs and their families, aside from the members and supporters of the OFW Advocates Coalition and the United Filipino Seafarers.
Among the party list’s objectives is to provide education, technology and skills trainings, business development, savings, jobs and livelihood opportunities, and it is also looking at initiating advocacies that involve transformation and sustainable development, participative and good governance, promotion and awareness on human trafficking and illegal recruitment, constitutional reforms and human rights violations.
Among its nominees are John Bertiz, a second generation OFW whose father worked in Saudi Arabia and therefore is no stranger to the hardships and homesickness/nostalgia that overseas workers have to endure in the effort to get a decent job that would allow them to provide for their families and loved ones.
“I know how it is to be poor, how it is to go to school with an empty stomach, and how it is to live away from the comforts of our home,” said Bertiz, adding that the struggles faced by OFWs are also his. Having been an OFW kid before he became an OFW himself, Bertiz certainly knows the joy and happiness that a blaikbayan box can bring especially to a child.
Knowing that they can and their kids to good schools and put food on the table is already a great source of accomplishment for OFWs, whose dollar remittances (almost $26 billion in 2015) are acknowledged by this government as a big contributor to economic growth. Despite that however, OFWs can still be ignored, the last to be consulted on important government policies that affect them. That’s because the perception is that these “modern-day heroes” do not command the votes since are divided.
Now is a good time as any to prove that OFWs are united and have a strong voice. “It is time we showed them that we play an important role in building this great nation, and take it upon ourselves to change our situation,” shared Bertiz, reminding his fellow OFWs that the election is not really about him or any other candidate but the fight for Filipino workers to achieve their dreams and aspirations, to make change possible—not later but now—and they can do that by supporting ACTS OFW party list, Bertiz said.
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