Dr. Martin D. Bautista for Senator

So, have you decided on who will be in your list of 12 senators? I think I now have a list of 3 names.

I caught a show on ANC last night on Alternative Candidates. It featured Danton Remoto (didn't know he was running for Senator), Dr. Martin D. Bautista, and Zosimo Paredes. Dr. Bautista and Mr. Paredes are both with Kapatiran, a group committed to "put God in politics" by focusing on virtue, duty, transparency, public accountability, and good citizenship.

My favorite writer, Conrado de Quiros, has already come out strongly with two columns endorsing Dr. Martin D. Bautista. I am inclined to vote for him -- not because he is a Bautista (we are not related) and not because he is a U.P. graduate (well, that helps) but because he is a new name, a new face, with a good story.

Dr. Martin D. Bautista is a UP College of Medicine 1989 graduate and is a US-trained gastroenterologist. After years of living and working in the US, he came back to the Philippines with his wife, a US trained pulmonologist, and their four daughters.

At a time when most Filipinos would give anything to get out of the country, it is refreshing to see a doctor coming back and even trying to run for the Senate. Sure, you say, he's had his chance and is probably so comfortable financially that he can now afford to come back and live here in the Philippines again -- that is beside the point. I have had it with old names and the usual faces. It is time for non-politicians (and non showbiz and sports people too) to have a say in how this country is run.

Who are my candidates as of now? Dr. Martin Bautista, Danton Remoto (well his thrust is public education and his presence should make the Senate more interesting), and of course, Sonia Roco. Her thrust is also education and it is no secret that I voted for Raul Roco in the last election. She hasn't held any public position in the past and so that makes her a new face too.

So, will you let me know the candidates that you will be voting or not be voting for?