Ka Leody, 2 other Labor Win bets concede from Senate race

Aika Rey

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Ka Leody, 2 other Labor Win bets concede from Senate race

Rappler.com

Ka Leody de Guzman says the fight for the Senate race may now be over, but the fight for democracy still remains


MANILA, Philippines – Three senatorial bets from the Labor Win coalition conceded from the Senate race on Tuesday, May 14, after more than 90% of the votes have been transmitted to the Commission on Election’s server.

Labor Win candidates Leody de Guzman, Sonny Matula, and Allan Montaño posted separate messages on their social media accounts accepting defeat from the elections. All 5 from Labor Win, including Neri Colmenares and Ernesto Arellano, did not make the winning circle as of late.

De Guzman, or Ka Leody as he is fondly called, thanked students and members from the organized labor who backed his campaign in a message he posted on his official Twitter account.

“Hindi tayo pinalad na makapasok sa winning circle pero pumasok naman tayo sa puso ng mga kabataang estudyante at organisadong seksyon ng mga manggagawa,” he said.

(We were not able to enter the winning circle but we were able to win the hearts of the students and the organized sections of labor.)

De Guzman said that the fight for the Senate race may now be over, but the fight for democracy still remains.

“Makabuluhang pundasyon ito para sa higit na pagpapalakas ng laban para sa demokrasya ng mamamayan hindi sa diktadura iilan. Tuloy ang laban,” De Guzman said.

According to partial and unofficial results from the Commission on Elections (Comelec) transparency server, De Guzman has 867,911 votes as of 4:13 pm on Tuesday. Over 95% of the precincts nationwide had transmitted results.

Federation of Free Workers president Sonny Matula shared the sentiments of De Guzman:

“I’ve been telling myself that this electoral struggle is but one of the fora to give voice to the workers to improve their lot. For me, in victory or defeat, our organizing, education and collective negotiation activities and other trade union works continue,” Matula said.

Matula said that the 2019 elections would help them “improve” their future strategies and tactics “to succeed and uphold the cause of the working people.”

Matula has 388,472 votes based on the partial and unofficial tally.

Meanwhile, Montaño said the public may not be “ready for real change” by not electing a single labor candidate in the Senate. Montaño has 893,133 votes according to the server.

The other members of the labor coalition, Colmenares and Arellano, received 4.56 million and 908,364 votes respectively, based on the latest partial and unofficial results.

The Labor Win candidates are pushing for pro-worker and pro-poor policies in the Senate, particularly higher wages nationwide, end to contractualization, and rural development.

When the labor leaders launched their bid, they said that they were depending on the support of the unions under the organizations they lead. (READ: To Senate halls from the streets: Will the labor vote prevail in the midterm elections?)

On Election Day, Monday, May 13, more than 71% of the 61 million registered Filipino voters trooped to polling precincts.

Reelectionist senators Cynthia Villar and Grace Poe topped the Senate race, with 24.48 million and 21.4 million votes respectively, as of the latest unofficial tally. – Rappler.com

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Aika Rey

Aika Rey is a business reporter for Rappler. She covered the Senate of the Philippines before fully diving into numbers and companies. Got tips? Find her on Twitter at @reyaika or shoot her an email at aika.rey@rappler.com.