Nacionalista Party standard bearer Senator Manuel ‘Manny’ Villar helps Ramon ‘Mon-Mon’ Mitra put on the NP jacket signifying the latter’s inclusion in the party’s senatorial slate during a meeting at the Laurel Mansion in Mandaluyong City.

The Nacionalista Party (NP) formally launched its political struggle when it announced Sunday afternoon its senatorial bets for the 2010 elections in a proclamation rally held in Moriones, Tondo, Manila — birthplace of NP standard-bearer Sen. Manuel “Manny” Villar.

Villar, whose battlecry is to solve poverty and hunger that beset millions of poor Filipinos under the present administration, urged thousands of supporters during the rally to join him in pursuing a different kind of revolution.

“I stand here before you to declare a new revolution that will fight against poverty and free our countrymen from dire circumstances in their lives,” he said.

Villar also warned the people that not all those who trumpet change would offer real change.

He urged people to ask, “What kind of change would they bring? Do they really understand the plight of the poor? Or are they just referring to change in who is in power?

Real change is not merely a change in presidency…it is enriching the lives of poor Filipinos.”

Villar also said the NP senatorial slate is made up of achievers, movers, and shakers in diverse fields of endeavors and interests.

The slate is led by reelectionist Senators Miriam Defensor Santiago as guest candidate, Pia Cayetano and Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. It includes Ilocos Norte Rep. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, retired Marine Col. Ariel Querubin, lawyer Adel Tamano, Susan “Toots” Ople, Gwendolyn Pimentel-Gana, and Ramon “Mon-Mon” Mitra.

“We are proud and honored to have these distinguished people on board the Nacionalista Party for the upcoming national elections. Together with Senator Loren Legarda (Villar’s running mate), we offer Filipinos our combined strengths, accomplishments as well as efforts to bring solutions to the country’s problems and make it progressive anew,” said Villar.

NP spokesman Rep. Gilbert Remulla said the party is reserving two slots in the slate for the possible entry of its adopted candidates, party list Reps. Satur Ocampo and Liza Masa.

Santiago is a recipient of the Ramon Magsaysay Award for government service and is famous for her courageous crusade against corruption.

Cayetano, on the other hand, is the youngest woman elected in the history of the Philippine Senate. A lawyer, triathlete and mother of two, she has been promoting health, environment, youth and women's empowerment to continue the legacy of her father, the late Senator Compañero Rene L. Cayetano.

Revilla, another guest candidate, holds the distinction as the youngest elected vice governor and governor in Cavite in 1995 and 1998, respectively, and as the youngest elected member of the Senate in 2004.

Querubin is the most bemedalled military officer in the history of the republic and gained prominence after a seven-hour standoff in Fort Bonifacio during an alleged coup plot against President Arroyo in February 2006.

Marcos counts 17 years in public service and has earned a distinguished record of achievement as a political leader and public manager, while Tamano caught the attention of the public as the spokesman of the United Opposition in the 2007 national elections. He is a prominent lawyer and educator (president of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila and the Association of Local Colleges and Universities).

Ople is an advocate of overseas Filipino workers and is the youngest daughter of the late Senator and Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas F. Ople, while Mitra is the son and namesake of the late Speaker of the House Ramon V. Mitra. He has extensive experience in administration and operations management acquired from over 18 years experience in the military, private business and family-owned corporations.

Pimentel-Gana is the daughter of Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Nene Pimentel, Jr. A lawyer like her father, she is the president of the Association of Child Caring Agencies of the Philippines (ACCAP), the country’s leading network of residential care and pre-adoption service providers.

The NP proclamation rally was held at the Macario Sakay Plaza, which was near the house where Villar used to live when his mother was still selling shrimps at nearby Divisoria Market.