One Batangas endorses Erin, Romy, Chel

Lipa, Batangas—Former Deputy Speaker and senatorial candidate Lorenzo ‘Erin’ Tañada III is one of three Otso Deretso candidates endorsed by One Batangas, a political party headed by Senator Ralph Recto and his wife, Batangas 6th District Rep. Vilma Santos-Recto.

The official endorsement was announced Monday in a large gathering attended by city and municipal mayors, vice mayors and councilors in the province at the Club Malarayat here.

Romy Macalintal and Chel Diokno, who both hail from Batangas, are the other two opposition candidates endorsed by the political party.

Tañada, who was in Mindanao, was represented by his father, former Senator Wigberto ‘Bobby’ Tañada, in the gathering.

“This is a great honor that my son Erin is among those trusted by One Batangas to advance the cause of our country. This endorsement is testament to the trust and confidence that you have in my son, who has served as a three-term Congressman of the neighboring province of Quezon,” said the elder Tañada.

“Batangas and Quezon are, we can say, sister provinces. In these two provinces we have economic, industrial, and agricultural zones. The two provinces’ contribution to the economy is significant. Whatever legislations we make for our workers and farmers will greatly impact these two provinces and, eventually, the country,” added Erin in a statement.

The elder Tañada recalled the long ties between the Rectos and the Tañadas, starting in 1947 when his father, former Senator Lorenzo ‘Ka Tanny’ Tañada, served in the Senate with Senator Recto’s grandfather, Claro M. Recto. Ka Tanny was the older Recto’s vice-presidential running mate in the 1957 elections.

Bobby Tañada also recalled a shared advocacy with another Batangueño, former Senator Sotero Laurel, who along with him was one of the “Magic 12” who voted against the retention of the American military bases in the Philippines in 1991.

Erin Tañada was Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives during his last term from 2010 to 2013. Some of his most notable bills are the Universal Health Care, Renewable Energy Act, Anti-Torture Act, recovery of the Coco Levy, Coconut Farmers’ Trust Fund, and the Peoples’ Survival Fund.

“I am both thankful and proud of One Batangas’ endorsement. They house the very sectors, workers and farmers, that have a special place in my heart. I will keep pushing for national minimum wage and coco levy fund. This is the least I can do for them as I know they will be behind me all the way,” Erin Tañada said.