Militant groups push Casiño's senatorial bid

MANILA, Philippines - Various groups based in Laguna Lake and Manila Bay on Tuesday expressed their support for the senatorial bid of Bayan Muna Rep. Teodoro Casiño.

Leaders of Anakpawis partylist, Pamalakaya, Alyansa ng mga Mandaragat ng Bacoor, Cavite, Koalisyon Kontra Kumbersyon ng Manila Bay, and Save Laguna Lake Movement (SLLM) said Casiño is qualified among the other 32 senatorial candidates running in the May 2013 elections.

"Representative Casiño has been with us in the fight against large-scale reclamation in Manila Bay and against corporate plunder of Laguna Lake since time immemorial. We would be in a major political default if we will not campaign for him," the groups said.

They said Casiño sponsored and supported several House resolutions calling the attention of the government to investigate and put an end to the various reclamation and privatization projects in Manila Bay and Laguna Lake which will affect not less than six million people.

The groups added that the militant lawmaker has been supportive of the fisherfolk campaign against privatization and conversion of Laguna Lake and over the last nine years.

Last year, Casiño and Anakpawis Rep. Rafael Mariano filed resolutions calling for an investigation on big-reclamation projects in Manila Bay, one of them is the ambitious P14-billion reclamation plan in Las Piñas-Parañaque.

The two partylist congressmen also sought congressional inquiry on the 102 reclamation projects all over the country under the National Reclamation Plan of the Philippine Reclamation Authority.