HAGONOY, Bulacan – Members of labor groups officially endorsed yesterday the Senate bid of Susan Ople, the youngest daughter of the late statesman Blas F. Ople of this coastal town.
The Maka-Manggagawa Movement, an organization composed of different labor groups and overseas Filipino workers (OFW) families, led a brief ceremony for Ople at the Isabelo Reyes Auditorium in the University of the Philippines (UP) Solair Building, Diliman yesterday morning.
“I’ll be running as a guest candidate of the Nationalist Peoples’ Coalition (NPC)” said the young Ople who is fondly called as “Toots” by friends.
Toots formally accepted the endorsement during the ceremony.
Toots is a graduate of Communication Arts from the University of Sto. Tomas, and finished her Masters in Public Administration (MPA) at the John F. Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University.
She served as chief of staff of her father during his term as Senator.
After Senator Ople died in 2003, Toots served as undersecretary of Labor, and undersecretary of the now defunct Office of the Communications Director (OCD) in Malacanang.
Lawyer Reynaldo Robles said “Toots could have chosen to remain in government and enjoyed the perks and privileges of power.”
However, she resigned from Malacañang due to differences of principles on Charter Change.
She later set-up the Blas F. Ople Policy Center and Training Institute (Ople Center), a non-stock, non-profit corporation dedicated to helping distressed overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), Filipino migrants and providing training for them and their families to enhance their employment and personal potential.
This opened an avenue for Toots to serve the people her father started to serve since he authored the Labor Code of the Philippines and opened job opportunities for Filipinos abroad.
According to Derick Delos Reyes, a son of an OFW from Bulacan town, “I think Ms. Ople is the most credible person who can speak about the plight of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) today.”
He said that OFWs and their families need an advocate in the Senate who truly understand their plight.
Reyes added that many politicians have been trying to court the OFW vote through different media gimmicks but all remain as a cosmetic on the actual plight of OFWs.
The same was echoed by former UP dean and professor Dr. Rene Ofreneo
In a statement, he said, “It is easy to spout pro-labor slogans, but, are these supported by the behavior of the candidate towards his or her colleagues, peers, and employees? We need not only a clear labor agenda but also reliable labor advocates. Susan Ople, not just because of the family name but also given her own accomplishments, eminently fills the bill.”
Ofreneo and other leaders of different labor groups in the country vowed to campaign for labor-friendly candidates led by Ople’s daughter.
The Maka-Manggagawa Movement, an organization composed of different labor groups and overseas Filipino workers (OFW) families, led a brief ceremony for Ople at the Isabelo Reyes Auditorium in the University of the Philippines (UP) Solair Building, Diliman yesterday morning.
“I’ll be running as a guest candidate of the Nationalist Peoples’ Coalition (NPC)” said the young Ople who is fondly called as “Toots” by friends.
Toots formally accepted the endorsement during the ceremony.
Toots is a graduate of Communication Arts from the University of Sto. Tomas, and finished her Masters in Public Administration (MPA) at the John F. Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University.
She served as chief of staff of her father during his term as Senator.
After Senator Ople died in 2003, Toots served as undersecretary of Labor, and undersecretary of the now defunct Office of the Communications Director (OCD) in Malacanang.
Lawyer Reynaldo Robles said “Toots could have chosen to remain in government and enjoyed the perks and privileges of power.”
However, she resigned from Malacañang due to differences of principles on Charter Change.
She later set-up the Blas F. Ople Policy Center and Training Institute (Ople Center), a non-stock, non-profit corporation dedicated to helping distressed overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), Filipino migrants and providing training for them and their families to enhance their employment and personal potential.
This opened an avenue for Toots to serve the people her father started to serve since he authored the Labor Code of the Philippines and opened job opportunities for Filipinos abroad.
According to Derick Delos Reyes, a son of an OFW from Bulacan town, “I think Ms. Ople is the most credible person who can speak about the plight of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) today.”
He said that OFWs and their families need an advocate in the Senate who truly understand their plight.
Reyes added that many politicians have been trying to court the OFW vote through different media gimmicks but all remain as a cosmetic on the actual plight of OFWs.
The same was echoed by former UP dean and professor Dr. Rene Ofreneo
In a statement, he said, “It is easy to spout pro-labor slogans, but, are these supported by the behavior of the candidate towards his or her colleagues, peers, and employees? We need not only a clear labor agenda but also reliable labor advocates. Susan Ople, not just because of the family name but also given her own accomplishments, eminently fills the bill.”
Ofreneo and other leaders of different labor groups in the country vowed to campaign for labor-friendly candidates led by Ople’s daughter.
