Angat Buhay in spirit of Bayanihan

Angat Buhay in spirit of Bayanihan

ROBERTO MINA

Edmonton, Alberta

By Lea Luciano
The Philippine Reporter

In Edmonton, Alberta, the initiative continues as the Edmonton 4 Leni Coalition showed their support for former Vice President Leni Robredo’s Angat Buhay program that launched on July 1, 2022.
Angat Buhay is a non-government organization and the largest volunteer network that focuses on its four advocacy: food security and health, education, disaster relief and rehabilitation, and community engagement.

“During our May 1 miting de avance, we already made a decision that whether or not Leni or Kiko wins, we will continue our pursuit of good governance, fight against poverty, corruption, disinformation and red-tagging, promote transparency and a responsive bureaucracy, etc.,” said Roberto Mina, convenor for the Edmontons 4 Leni Coalition.

Mina was one of the many Leni-Kiko supporters who felt a great sense of loss after the elections in May.

“In retrospect, we were against two powerful political family dynasties who amassed ill-gotten wealth which in turn funded a well-oiled disinformation network, massive vote-buying, and controlled the electoral system in their favor,” said Mina.

LENI ROBREDO

Still, we believed that there were reasons to be thankful, that we had gained throughout the 90 days of campaigning,” he added.

The Leni-Kiko tandem launched a powerful volunteer-led movement during their campaign period. Thousands of supporters attended rallies that filled stadiums, streets and major avenues that made international news. Volunteers created campaign materials and developed an app called Leni 2022 to relay news and updates, they organized rallies throughout the country, launched house-to-house campaigns, and adapted Robredo’s LugawOne project, a feeding program for people of all ages.

“[This is] the kind of volunteerism we haven’t seen in previous elections. Sectors who traditionally do not endorse a candidate such as priests, doctors, lawyers, artists, educators, engineers- practically people from all walks of life made their choices known,” said Mina.

“Young people, many of whom were voting for the first time, kept the energy high in rallies. We were living out the Bayanihan spirit and being true to Angat Buhay Lahat.”

The launch of Angat Buhay Edmonton is to support the community programs that Robredo started when she was still the Vice President.

KIKO PANGILINAN

“We recognized the windows of opportunities an electoral victory could offer. But if it is not yet Leni’s hour, we are resolved to keep searching and opening other doors of opportunities, still with Leni and Kiko, who have proven themselves as genuine, effective, and capable servant leaders.”

The Angat Buhay advocacy urges supporters like Joseph Mirasol to harness the energy, dedication, and radical love (radikal magmahal) that they showed during her campaign trail towards helping out the communities regardless of who they voted for during the election.

“Si Leni parin dahil siya lang ang nakita kong systematic, (It’s still Leni because she is the only one I see that is systematic),” said Mirasol.

“Ang nakita kong problema ng Pilipinas, it’s the entire ecosystem. Systematic ang problema. Hindi sya isang segment lang.” (The problem that I see with the Philippines is its entire ecosystem. The problem is systematic. It’s not one segment only)

When Mirasol’s mother got sick back in 2019, they were fortunate enough to have friends working at the hospital to get the treatment that their mother needed.

“We got lucky we had connections, but what about others who don’t have the privilege? How about those who didn’t get the assistance they needed? Those who are sick and have nowhere to go?
Mirasol hopes that the Angat Buhay initiative will continue to provide medical assistance to those who don’t have access to immediate health care.