JC Gordon Delos Reyes at Payatas sortie

Ang Kapatiran’s JC De los Reyes vows to fight poverty in Payatas sortie

ANDREO C. CALONZO, GMANews.TV

Ang Kapatiran's standard-bearer John Carlos de los Reyes on Tuesday vowed to fight poverty in the party's proclamation rally held in Payatas, Quezon City—site of Metro Manila’s largest garbage dump and home to thousands of urban informal settlers whose livelihoods depend mostly on scavenging the dump.

De los Reyes said the party chose Barangay Lupang Pangako (“Promised Land") in Payatas as the venue of the proclamation rally because it is “a symbol of the failure of the government to address the needs of the poorest of the poor."

“’Yung mga lider dapat bumaba sa taong bayan para malaman nila ang realidad. Dito sa Payatas makikita ang pinaka-inkredibleng realidad ng bansa (Leaders should go down to the people for them to be able to see reality. It is here in Payatas where one can see the country’s most incredible reality)," de los Reyes told GMANews.TV during the rally.

“Nung umikot ako rito, nakita ko na (When I went around the place, I saw that) life here is without dignity, and our fellow Filipinos experience it. Ang sinisimbolo ng Payatas ay isang Pilipinas na lagapak sa kahirapan (Payatas symbolizes a Philippines mired in poverty)," he added.

De los Reyes said he would fight poverty under his administration by empowering barangays (village-level communities)—the smallest administrative division of the government.

“We should empower barangays, because [they] should serve as lifelines for every Filipino—in health, in education and in peace and order," he said.

De los Reyes, a councilor from Olongapo City, said he would do this by allotting more resources for these political units.

“Give them [barangays] resources and autonomy—devolution and decentralization. We need to overhaul the system," he said.

The official proclamation of De los Reyes as the party’s presidential bet was witnessed by about a hundred residents—mostly children and housewives living near the dumpsite—who also benefited from food packs containing bread and pancit distributed during the rally.

The candidacy of the party’s vice-presidential bet Dominador Chipeco and eight senatorial aspirants were also formalized during the rally.

Ang Kapatiran’s senatorial slate include: social scientist Rizalito David; lawyers Jo Imbong, Zosimo Paredes, Grace Plazo and Adrian Sison; Aparri councilor Reginald Tamayo; Col. Hector Tarrazona; and former United Nations executive Manuel Valdehuesa.

Also present during the proclamation rally were the party’s 49 bets for local positions nationwide.—JV, GMANews.TV