I do not know Teddy Casiño And when I say that, I mean that I do not know him personally, and at a random meeting he wouldn’t know me from Eve. I’ve been asked by friends if I’m endorsing him though, and the answer is yes, because for someone I do not know, I trust Teddy.
I trust him for exactly the reasons you have been made to think he is not worthy of your vote. I trust him because he is an activist.And I mean activism that is consistent about issues, and demands discussions that we would all rather not have. I mean activism that doesn’t quickly turn into the more palatable progressive; and certainly doesn’t become mere puppet of any part—ruling and otherwise. I mean activism that is ideological, and yes, you are taught to fear that, too.
Yet it is ideology that allows Teddy to have a clear sense of a framework for nation, one that allows him to actually run on a platform. And when I say that, I mean that there is an answer to problems, there are clear solutions to the crises upon crises that this nation faces. When I say ideological, I mean that his is a platform that doesn’t talk about national issues as if these are disparate from each other; instead it reminds us about how everything is connected and how fundamental change has to mean working with these connections, working on the idea of systemic change.
Teddy’s platform reminds us that things aren’t as simple as believing that eradicating corruption will mean eradicating poverty. Anyone with half a brain would know in fact, that the latter is so false, it is unbelievable that the government still banks on it. That of course, is PNoy ideology.
Which has banked on nothing but the idea of a matuwid na daan as the only thing you need for a prosperous nation. Analyze the matuwid na daan ideology and you will find nothing beneath it, other than of course the protection of the interests of the wealthier among us, and feeding the poor just enough, if not telling them they aren’t poor because they can live off P172 a day. That’s P172 for a family of five.
Teddy’s ideology doesn’t make things pretty, his ideology doesn’t become spin. In fact you read the information that they’ve put out about where Teddy stands on issues, and you can only be hopeful about change. One that is about electing the best people into the Senate, yes, but even more so, one that is about this one person’s daring to engage with the system, and demand that it work for the majority of us, including those who are marginalized and silenced, those whose lives this system refuses to acknowledge.