MANILA – Senatorial candidate Teodoro 'Teddy' Casiño on Tuesday said he has never been part of the New People’s Army (NPA) and has never espoused the armed overthrow of the government.

In an interview on ANC’s Headstart, he said asking communist rebels to give up the armed struggle will not work since they won’t listen anyway.

"Para sa akin, that's tantamount to asking them to surrender and I think that has been done mula pa nung panahon ni Marcos. E hindi naman magsu-surrender. The more constructive approach is the peace process,” he said.

Casiño, who is running under the Makabayan Coalition banner, said that while he has never been part of the communist underground, he knows that there are very legitimate grievances behind the rebels’ decision to arm themselves.

“I respect that the armed movement stems from very legitimate issues, very legitimate grievances that have not really been addressed by several governments. Unless these issues are resolved, the armed movement will always be there. It is a movement older than myself, just like the Muslim secessionist movement,” he said.

“I respect these movements. Hindi naman tatagal yan ng ganyan kung walang pinanggagalingan. Unless a political settlement is made, hindi matatapos e,” he added.

Casiño denied receiving financing from the NPA, saying the communist rebels probably use their funds for the armed movement.

NPA taxation

He also said he does not support the NPA’s drive to collect funds from candidates so that they can campaign in rebel-controlled areas.

“Definitely these are illegal. Labag yan sa ating mga batas. I myself, I do not support that practice. On the other hand, it is an assertion of political authority by the [National Democratic Front] in their controlled areas,” he said.

“I think arresting them or condemning the practice will not make the practice go away. It will have to be resolved through a process addressing - bakit ba may ganyan? Bakit ba ang tingin nila sa sarili nila ibang gobyerno? How can we end the armed struggle? If it is possible to end it through peaceful means, through peaceful negotiations, yun ang dapat tutukan talaga,” he added.

Tricky label

Casiño said he has no problems with being called a leftist since he has always sided with reform and the concerns of the common people.

“I don’t mind the label. Ang problema lang, yung label medyo kargado e. Pag sinabi leftist, communist yan. Pag sinabi leftist, rebelde yan. That is really in the Philippine context. Sa ibang bansa, in Europe, when they say Left, e ano? You are just part of the spectrum. In Latin America, they have elected leftist presidents. Pero dito sa Pilipinas, kargado e and that is because of the martial law era. It is also because we have a ongoing communist movement in the Philippines, armed movement. It is a very tricky label,” he said.

He also said the issues raised by the communist underground are the same issues being pursued by reformers including agrarian reform, injustice, the plight of farmers, human rights violations, lack of industrial development and independent foreign policies.

Senatorial bid

In the interview, Casiño admitted that he is facing an uphill battle in running for senator. He said that under the Makabayan Coalition, he expects some 3.5 million to 3.8 million votes on Election Day.

“If we can multiply that 4 times, we’re good to go,” he said.

He said he is dismayed that some senatorial candidates such as Cagayan Rep. Jack Enrile is ranking highly in the pre-election surveys despite being in the top 10 absentee lawmakers in the House of Representatives last year.

“We feel it is unfair that some people are attending religiously and others don’t. They have a justification for it because of concerns in their district but when you are running for higher office, hindi ka na lang district. Pag senador ka na, mas malaki na saklaw mo. Baka mas madalas pa yung absent mo,” he said.

“It shows how one treats his work. Ang trabaho naman namin talaga is legislation and if you are not there to debate and to discuss, how can you legislate?”

He warned that the Philippines is now slowly being overrun by political dynasties, noting a previous report that 133 political families now control Philippine politics.

“That is the game in the Senate. It is not just name recall but the dynastic politics that we have. I have been authoring the Anti-dynasty bill in Congress since 2004 precisely because the equal opportunity for public service is not open to those who would like to serve just because wala siyang apelyidong malaki,” he said.