Says her platform is ‘extremely different’

MANILA - Sen. Maria Ana Consuelo “Jamby” Madrigal on Tuesday promised a new kind of politics as she “silently” filed her certificate of candidacy (CoC) for president for the 2010 elections.

Madrigal entered and filed her CoC at the Commission on Elections office in Intramuros, Manila almost unnoticed. She came with her legislative staff, without a band and a crowd of shouting supporters.

She filed her CoC while a sea of supporters of Lakas-Kampi-CMD frontrunners Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro and Edu “Doods” Manzano surrounded the Comelec compound. The administration party's tandem also filed their CoCs Tuesday morning.

Madrigal, who is running as an independent and without a running mate and senatorial slate, said she hopes to level the playing field.

"I do this not out of personal ambition but out of the dictates of conscience. I am not the candidate of big businessmen or big political parties. If elected, I shall favor only the Filipino people. To improve the people’s lives, we must invest in them directly and not through intermediaries," she said after filing her COC.

Asked if she is planning to form alliances with other political groups, she told ANC: “I think at the end of the day a lot of us with progressive platforms will unite depending on how the landscape is.”

“What's funny is it seems that party doesn’t really mean much nowadays. The presidential elections have become like another senatorial elections. But what I bring here is a platform and not merely personality,” commented the lady senator.

Reform from below

Madrigal was expected to run for re-election but she decided to vie for the highest post in the land.

“The easy way, the safe way is not always the right way. Heroism is not built on taking the easy way out. Heroism is built on martyrdom and I will fight for my principled platform which is based on progressive principles and people empowerment rather than big business empowerment,” she explained.

“I would like to push for my platform which is extremely different from the platform of any major political party at the moment.”

Madrigal said she stands by the principle of controlled globalization of American economist Joseph Stiglitz.

“For one, I’m not a free trader… I believe in more government control because only through more government control of major industry, through government control of social services can we bring the wealth down to the ordinary person,” she declared.

“I believe in being able to fuel a major middle class through empowerment and capitalization on the poor, the lower middle class. Rather than reform from above, I believe in reform from below.”

The economic crisis in the world has happened because of too little regulation and too much greed and speculation,” she added.

Conscience call

Madrigal also mentioned that she is for sovereignty. “Many of the candidates voted for JPEPA, many of the candidates pushed for JPEPA (Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement), many of the candidates are probably for VFA (Visiting Forces Agreement).”

“I am for rescinding every unequal economic treaty we have signed like JPEPA and the VFA which is a military treaty. I am taking a more nationalist pro-sovereignty stand more than the other free traders,” she went on.

According to Madrigal, she hopes to prove that principled politics can work in the country.

“In the end this was more a conscience call rather than an ambitious move and I was able to prove to myself that I was able to withstand the trapo politics in the Senate,” she said.

“I’d like to be able to be given a chance to prove that should I be elected President, I will not give way to traditional patronage politics and give honor to my grandfather Jose Abad Santos’ martyrdom.”

Intelligent voters

Madrigal is confident that she has a chance in the 2010 elections because voters are more discerning now.

“It's not if you win or lose. It’s really how you play the game. Now is the time. There has never been a point in Philippine history where the presidency is up for grabs so easily because people are fickle,” she said.

“I’m running to give a choice to our people a different choice from all the other platforms and I believe the people nowadays are not that easily swayed by an envelope during election day, not that easily swayed by the actors, drums and the by all the hakot crowd.”

She added that she is hoping Filipinos will be intelligent enough to shun traditional politicians and elect a president with a unique vision to eradicate poverty and corruption.

“Binibigyan ko ng mas malaking respeto ang katalinuhan ng bawat Pilipino na talagang iboto yung tao na alam nila'y makakabigay ng kabutihan sa Pilipinas at hindi lang yung trapo na gumagawa ng maraming promesa na di naman natutupad,” she said.