MANILA – Former Bayan Muna party-list representative Neri Colmenares took another chance to land a Senate seat as he filed his certificate of candidacy (COC) on Thursday.
Colmenares, a native of Bacolod City, said he is “optimistic” despite his first attempt in the senatorial bid failed in 2016.
He added that he banks on the social media presence of the left-leaning Makabayan coalition.
“Magre-rely tayo sa social media presence ng mga kasamahan ko sa Makabayan coalition – also ‘yung mga naniniwala sa plataporma natin,” he said.
Colmenares was among the candidates who filed their COCs for the May 13, 2019 midterm elections on the filing’s first day at the Commission on Elections main office in Intramuros, Manila.
He was accompanied by another former Bayan Muna representative Satur Ocampo, former Social Welfare secretary Judy Taguiwalo and ACT-Teachers party-list representative Antonio Tinio.
Among his plans if ever elected is to remove the value added tax (VAT) on basic commodities and crafting the law prohibiting contractualization.
“Isa sa mga plataporma ko ay ang tanggalin ang VAT sa kuryente, sa tubig at sa langis…Isa pa ang batas na walang patumpik-tumpik na magbabawal ng contractualization,” Colmenars said.
Colmenares has served as a House member for three consecutive terms until 2016. He co-authored measures that sought an increase in pension for Social Security System members and the sending of free mobile disaster alerts to the public./PN
