EDITORIAL - Senators by region again

It is well into campaign period and you might have noticed that the Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas slate of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. are all from Luzon.

They are former Interior secretary Benhur Abalos, Makati Mayor Abigail Binay, Senator Pia Cayetano, former senator Panfilo Lacson, Senator Lito Lapid, boxing icon Manny Pacquiao, Senator Bong Revilla, former Senate president Tito Sotto, Senator Francis Tolentino, Rep. Erwin Tulfo, Rep. Camille Villar, and Senator Imee Marcos.

Perhaps with the exception of Senator Pacquiao who grew up in General Santos City --although it can be argued he isn’t a resident of Mindanao anymore-- the Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas looks more like the Alyansa Para sa Bagong Luzon.

Technically, there is nothing wrong with this, and it should also be mentioned that whoever President Marcos chooses to run under his auspices is his own choice entirely; we wouldn’t presume to dictate whom he should include in his slate.

However, it should also be mentioned that this can be seen as a snub of the Visayas and Mindanao, as he has a total absence of people from these areas.

When we look at the slate of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino composed of Senator Bong Go, Senator Bato dela Rosa, former presidential adviser for northern Luzon Raul Lambino, actor Philip Salvador, detained televangelist Apollo Quiboloy, SAGIP Party-list Rep. Rodante Marcoleta, musician and lawyer Jimmy Bondoc, and former DILG undersecretary Jayvee Hinlo, it’s also not much different.

Looking at these choices, it would seem they come from one or several concentrated areas only; the rest of the country isn’t exactly represented. What’s worse is that some very small cities seem to be overrepresented in the Senate. Of course it gets even worse; some individual families seem to be overrepresented in the Senate.

Perhaps it would be better to vote senators by region again as opposed to at large. The ideal setup would be for every region to have two each, that way more areas will be better represented, and the Senate becomes a more diverse group of people from different parts of the Philippines and not just from one or two particular areas.

It may also help people wisen up to whom they are actually voting for.