Legarda to Run as NPC; Invited as UNA Guest Candidate

Senator Loren Legarda today confirmed that she will be running under the Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC), the party she has been with since 2007, and that she is accepting the draft to be a guest candidate of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) for the 2013 Elections.

"I am NPC, I have been with NPC since 2007, and I am grateful to the NPC leadership for always being supportive of me. As I run under the NPC as my party, I am thankful to Vice President Binay, Former President Estrada, and Senate President Enrile for having me as guest candidate in UNA. They have always been my allies--in 2004 I ran with the Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino (KNP) as FPJ's (Fernando Poe Jr.) Vice Presidential candidate and in 2007 with the United Opposition (UNO)," she explained.

The Senator also declared that she respects the partnership agreement between the NPC and the Liberal Party (LP) and said that she will continue to support the reform programs and good governance policies of the Aquino administration.

"I respect and observe the partnership agreement between the NPC and LP. I will support President Aquino until the end of his term. I share the reform agenda and politics of good, honest and transparent governance of the administration. I will continue to support President Aquino and Vice President Binay, the two highest elected officials of the land," she stressed.

"I am seeking re-election with the same goal of serving the Filipino nation unrelentingly and with passion, as always, because the people's interest always comes first as gleaned from the work I have done for the past 15 years," said Legarda.

Legarda has earned her mark in championing environmental protection, an advocacy she has been actively espousing even before she became a public servant. Furthermore, she is a known advocate of climate change adaptation (CCA) and disaster risk reduction (DRR), authoring and sponsoring laws such as the Clean Air Act, the Solid Waste Management Act, the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act, and most recently, the amended Climate Change Act, which provides for the creation of the People's Survival Fund. Her consistent efforts even earned her an international appointment as the United Nations Regional Champion for DRR and CCA for Asia-Pacific.

The Senator is also a known worker for the protection of the rights of women and children, making laws such as the Anti-Violence Against Women and Children Act, the Anti-Child Labor Law, and the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act. The Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons bill, also being sponsored by Senator Legarda, was recently approved on Second Reading in the Senate.

In the realm of foreign relations, Legarda has sponsored the approval of twelve (12) international agreements, deepening the Philippines' bilateral relations with various countries and promoting the welfare of Filipinos here and abroad. Most recently, she ushered the Senate's concurrence in the ratification of the International Labor Organization Convention 189 (Convention Concerning Decent Work for Domestic Workers) and the Maritime Labor Convention, 2006, which will both afford better protection to Filipino workers.

Moreover, she has spearheaded projects and worked for the enactment of laws that will promote the resilience of culture and rural livelihoods, provide support to small businesses, and empower indigenous peoples. She authored laws such as the Barangay Kabuhayan Act, the Agri-Agra Reform Credit Act, and the Magna Carta for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Act.