CHOOSE SENATORS WHO WORK - GUINGONA

AMID THE scorching issues involving presidential and vice presidential candidates, reelectionist Senator Teofisto "TG" Guingona III on Friday urged the voting populace to pay the same kind of attention to those gunning for a seat in the Senate.

"In a matter of days, the Filipino voters will steer the fate of this ship but the focus has mostly been on who will be at the helm. We must remember that the president cannot fix everything," Guingona stated.

According to Guingona, who is seeking a second term in the Senate, the public's fervor toward the election is driven by the race for the country's top two posts and by the local poll scene. Choosing among the senatorial aspirants has become an "afterthought."

"But this should not be the case because part of the full exercise of your right to vote is choosing senators whose commitment and actions will introduce reforms, on a national scale, that are aligned with the people's needs. Your senators must also be capable of ensuring checks and balances of the president's vision for the country. You are short-changing yourself if you don't [choose properly]," Guingona explained.

The senator also encouraged voters to be as discerning with the background of their choices as with the image they see on media.

"With the power of voting comes the responsibility of knowing whether your bets have records of corruption, questionable values and motivations, misleading publicity mileage, or empty accomplishment in the office. That's how you may know if your candidates have your best interest in mind," Guingona pointed out.

"In the midst of everything, we work. That's what the people voted us for," Guingona added.

Guingona is one of the senatorial candidates who have accepted the challenge of abiding by the Reform Agenda covenant of the Pilipino Movement for Transformational Leadership (PMTL) and the People's Choice Movement should he win a second shot at the Senate. The agenda includes reform issues such as good governance, poverty reduction, food security, job creation, and tax reform.

The People' Choice Movement is composed of individual volunteers nationwide, mostly leaders and members from various Christian faith-based organizations from the Catholic, Evangelical, and Protestant communities in the country which formed and comprise PMTL.