If Michael Moore can endorse candidates like Ralph Nader and Wesley Clark, why can't I?

With 6 days to go before the 2004 elections, I am quite surprised that this candidate is not getting any media mileage. I am talking about Mr. Heherson "Sonny" T. Alvarez!

In the recent SWS survey (Apr. 10-17), Alvarez is stuck in a tie b/w KNP's Boots Anson-Roa for either the 20th and 21st places. 14% say they will vote for Alvarez, while survey topnotcher Ramon "Bong" Revilla, Jr. enjoys the electoral support of 43% surveyed (a big difference of 29%!). Meanwhile, the recent Pulse Asia survey (Mar. 27-Apr. 4) shows him statistically tied with Amina Rasul (another KNP bet, who coincidentally, filed a disqualification motion against GMA with Anson-Roa) for the 21st-22nd places, with Rasul (12%) leading over him (11.8%) by a mere .2%! In my humble opinion, Mr. Alvarez deserves to regain back his seat in the Senate, for which he served for 11 long and illustrious years.

A man of great principle, he started out as one of the youngest delegates of the 1971 Con-Con who also opposed the Marcos dictatorship. His brother, Marsman, who was also a street parliamentarian like him, was tortured and killed by the military. Marsman’s body was found mangled beyond recognition – skull cracked open, eyes gorged and tongue plucked out - an act later condemned by Manila Archbishop Jose Cardinal Sin. This also caused the death of his father who succumbed to a heart attack. He evaded a “shoot-to-kill” order and went on exile in the United States to organize the opposition forces overseas. Together with Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., they moved around the U.S. calling for the restoration of democracy in the Philippines. After the 1986 Revolution, Alvarez served as Cory Aquino's minister of agrarian reform. A year later, he ran for the Senate and won. He was again re-elected for a second term in 1992. Most of the laws he created/authored were related to environmental issues, these include the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (CARL), the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) Act, the law creating the Department of Energy to address the country's then-worsening energy crisis, and the Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998. In 1998, he ran again for public office, this time as congressman of his native Isabela, and handily won. While serving in the House of Representatives, he was a leading member of the opposition, and was the first to initiate an impeachment complaint against then-President Joseph Ejercito Estrada in 2000. The series of events that follow would later lead to People Power 2 in 2001, which ushered another woman, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, to power. GMA rewarded Alvarez by appointing him to the position of Secretary of Environment & Natural Resources, a job which proved too hot to handle that he quit after only a year. In 2003, GMA gave him another position, this time as Presidential Adviser on Overseas Filipino Communities as well as the posts of secretary-general & spokesperson of the ruling party Lakas-CMD. A year later, Alvarez got the shock of his life when GMA, for whom he has been a loyal supporter, dropped him from the administration's senatorial slate in favor of John Osmena & Miriam Defensor-Santiago, 2 people associated with the pro-Erap faction who had earlier dropped from the opposition slate after differences with Estrada and his chosen candidate, actor Fernando Poe, Jr. As a result, he quit his Cabinet post as well as his 2 party posts, but unlike most politicians who tend to switch to the other side, he still chose to be a member of Lakas-CMD (he even accepted a new party position: vice-president for Luzon). However, it didn't discourage him from running in the Senate, he chose to continue campaigning as an independent, which some have described as "political suicide". Problems besieged his campaign, due to his lack of TV & radio ads (he can only afford print ads), only a few people knew (including this writer) that he was a candidate, which would explain his survey performance. Then, in the middle of the campaign, he took a break from his activities in order to accompany his wife Cecille (the founder of PETA and one of the prime movers of Philippine theater who like her husband, is a staunch environmentalist) to New York for her breast cancer treatments. A true show of love, devotion, and chivalry! This also shows Alvarez not just as a man of principle, but also as a man of greater dignity & sacrifice! Afterwards, he resumed his campaign sorties, appearing in various news programs, and recently, despite his low ranking, received endorsements from Sen. Joker Arroyo (who fought with him against Marcos & Erap) and former Senate President Jovito Salonga (a man who could have been a great president).

Husband. Father. Environmentalist. Freedom Fighter. Human Rights Advocate. Hero. What more can be said about Sonny Alvarez? The spirits of EDSA 1 & 2 shall live on within him! IBALIK SA SENADO! The future depends on your vote!


Visit his website: http://www.hehersonalvarez.com/

or: http://www.i-site.ph/

or: http://www.i-site.ph/Databases/ElectionFiles/Senatoriables/Independent/alvarez-personal.html/