Brother Mike Velarde said he will vote for Ople

Brother Mike Velarde said he will vote for Ople

Feb 17

Hong Kong — The candidacy of Nacionalista Party senatorial bet Susan “Toots” Ople received a major boost this weekend with the expression of support from no less than Brother Mike Velarde, leader of El Shaddai.

In an open prayer rally marked by intermittent rains attended by thousands of El Shaddai members, Brother Mike Velarde said that he will personally vote for Ople. “Kaibigan ko ang tatay niya. Ako ang nagpatakbo sa kanya. Iboboto ko siya,” Velarde said, referring to the senatorial candidate.

Ople was the lone senatorial bet who attended the prayer rally together with NP presidential standardbearer Manny Villar and vice-presidential bet Loren Legarda.

Brother Mike Velarde also made a strong pitch for Buhay Party-List which he said is pro-life and is against all forms of artificial contraception. He also cited his long friendships with Senators Villar and Legarda.

The former labor undersecretary and OFW advocate said she was very grateful to Brother Mike for his encouraging words. “I admire him beyond words because he has been consistent in looking after the interests of his followers including thousands of OFWs who have found spiritual strength through El Shaddai,” Ople said.

The youngest daughter of the late senator and Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas F. Ople also received endorsements from the Integrated Midwives Association of the Philippines-HK Chapter and nurses in HongKong. Ople was instrumental in subsidizing part of the expenses for last year’s nursing and midwifery review classes that enabled 14 OFWs to pass the midwives examination and 2 OFWs to pass the nursing licensure examinations.

Ople also explained to various community group leaders the OFW agenda of the Nacionalista Party which includes: an OFW health care program for returning OFWs who have acquired illnesses while working abroad, a country-specific and experience-based pre-departure orientation program that would include the rudiments of Internet use, a crackdown on usurious lending companies, and the restructuring of the OWWA Governing Board to include six additional representatives to be nominated by Filipino communities worldwide.

Ople said she will also bat for a higher budget for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Department of Labor and Employment to ensure quicker response to the problems of OFWs.

The labor advocate is also against labor-only contracting or contractualization and vowed that her very first bill in the Senate would prohibit abusive contracts that lead to the exploitation of local workers.