Gene Alcantara is a Filipino who also holds British citizenship. He ran for a position at the European Parliament. The elections in the United Kingdom were held last Thursday and the results are not yet in. Here is an excerpt of an e-mail interview that INQUIRER.net had with him.
1. What is your platform?
I am running as an Independent Candidate because I believe I will have more impact on people's lives this way. I have been helping people through my community and immigration work but I would help more if in an elected position. People have lost trust in British politicians and can no longer distinguish between the main political parties. If I win I would represent the interests of my constituency, rather than have to follow a party line. They deserve better, and I will be their voice in the European Parliament.
Filipinos and other migrants and marginalised Londoners do not have a voice in politics. As 70 percent of laws implemented in the UK emanate from Europe, it is very important that they have someone who will champion their case directly in Europe.
I stand for the following:
* Clean and Honest Politics - British politics is mired in corruption, sleaze and incompetence at the moment from the Labour Government to people in Parliament. I stand for cleaning it all up and restoring trust in politics. Instead of lining their pockets and thinking of preserving themselves in power, they should help ordinary people who are suffering from the effects of the credit crunch and recession, losing their jobs, losing their homes.
* Fairness to every Londoner – Twenty-nine percent of Londoners come from the migrant and ethnic communities. We, including the newly arrived Central and East Europeans, have suffered the brunt of blame by government and media for the ills of this society, when they should focus on integration, creating a harmonious community, and positive contribution of legal migrants. This government does not appreciate the contribution of people who have given their lives (as with the Gurkhas) for the security of Britain, nor do they appreciate the loyal decades of labour of the immigrants (like Filipinos and others) in serving the British public in their homes, in hospital and nursing homes, in restaurants and hotels, etc. I will be pushing for fairness for migrants and others such as pensioners who are being sidelined by Labour.
* Safety for our Children - The recent spate of knifings and shootings by young people does not inspire confidence and create fear among those of us with children not just in London, but across the UK. It is all so senseless and I will push for greater resources to tackle crime on our streets at its roots. (I have 3 children aged 26, 25 and 16, the last two living with me in London).
* Decent Health and Dental Care - The quality of healthcare has been getting worse in the UK, and affordable dental care is practically non-existent. Where do our National Insurance contributions go if not to fund such services? Even care for the elderly has suffered greatly as Labour plays with their immigration game. I will push for better, decent health and dental care.
* Affordable Education - Britain now has one of the highest tuition fees in the world. How would ordinary citizens afford to send their children to university, without plunging deeper into debt? I will push for sensible affordable education for all, one that the have-nots can also aspire to.
2. What do you consider your constituency? Are you relying on the growing number of Filipinos in UK? Can other Filipinos in other parts of Europe vote for you?
The constituency is all of London (about 7.5 million population) plus bits of Middlesex, Essex, Surrey, and Kent. Naturally the growing British and European Filipinos in the London area form the backbone of my strategy.
There are an estimated 250,000 Filipinos in the UK, of which about 60 percent are based in the 74 parliamentary constituencies (33 boroughs) of London. That number would hopefully be sufficient to secure a seat if we could get them and their relatives, friends, and colleagues to support me in the elections. The population of London is now estimated to be 7.5 million and turn out for the UK in the last European Elections in 2004 was 38.4 percent.
Unfortunately Filipinos in other parts of Europe cannot vote, but I am hoping that when they hear of my campaign, they would encourage their relatives, friends, and colleagues based in Greater London to lend me their support. And they could donate to my campaign—anyone not registered as an elector in Britain can contribute a maximum of GBP50 to my campaign.
3. If and when you win, will you be the first Filipino in EP? Will you be based in Brussels then?
Yes, definitely the first, although there are already a couple with origins from the Indian subcontinent.
If I win I would spend 50 percent of my time in London, then the rest in Brussels and Strasbourg.
4. Have you come back to the Philippines? When? What changes did you notice, if any?
I go back home every two years with my family, and we stay with my sister in law Atty Katrina Legarda at their house in Balicbalic in Sampaloc. More recently in Dec 08/Jan 09 for two weeks, taking in Boracay, Pampanga, and San Pablo City, where I was born. Maybe it was the season, but somehow the streets were cleaner, and the malls, shops, restaurants, and entertainment venues were full. The newspapers of course tell a different story. As my visits are normally for short periods, perhaps I only scratch the surface a bit with my transient approach—maybe I ought to stay longer in future and structure it a bit more to get a better feel.
6. Please tell us something about you and your family.
My spouse Carmila Legarda is Director of HR and Development for the Methodist Church in London. She actually finished Medicine at UERM but switched vocations to HR. We have a daughter, Melissa, 16, who is due to complete four years in secondary school, and will soon enter two years in Sixth Form (sort of college level).
I have 2 kids from a previous marriage—a daughter Giselle, 26, married to a Scot in Edinburgh, and Terence, 25, who lives with us in London.
