Erin Tañada, Leila De Lima and Teddy Baguilat formalize bid for House seats. INQUIRER.net / John Eric Mendoza
MANILA, Philippines — Former senator and now House seat aspirant Leila De Lima said it is more pragmatic for her to aim for a House of Representatives seat than push for a Senate comeback.
De Lima made the remark on Saturday as she filed here in Manila Hotel Tent City the certificate of nomination and acceptance (Cona) of Mamamayang Liberal party-list, of which she is the first nominee of.
“My pragmatic side tells me na medyo mahihirapan sa Senado (that I might have a bit of a hard time in the Senate),” De Lima said in an interview. “It’s a tight race, punong-puno, masikip (it’s very full and crowded).
When categorically asked if she thinks she has better chances in winning a House seat, De Lima said: “I think so.”
“All we have to do is to work hard at achieving a required number of votes to attain three seats. Just work hard and make people aware how sincere and how committed you are in quest for a seat in Congress,” she added.
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Former representatives Teddy Baguilat and Erin Tañada, who will be the second and third nominees of the party-list, respectively.
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De Lima won as senator in 2016, but she was only imprisoned after eight months until her term lapsed in 2022.
She has always maintained her innocence in drug allegations, and was detained for six years, eight months, and 21 days before being acquitted last June.
“The fulfillment of my mandate as a senator was very limited because I could not participate in the sessions, I could participate in the committee hearings, I could only file bills and resolutions,” De Lima said.
“This time I want to have a chance to be able to fully discharge the mandate that will be given, if and when, we got fortunate,” she added.
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