NOYNOY WARNED OF 'TRAPO' SUPPORTERS / YOUTH GROUP'S 'NOY IT FORWARD'
MANILA, NOVEMBER 4, 2009 (STAR) By Delon Porcalla - An opposition congressman warned yesterday Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III to be careful of his close supporters that include traditional politicians that are only riding on his popularity to remain in public office.
The congressman, who requested anonymity, said the people around Aquino – a non-traditional politician – might only jeopardize his presidential campaign “because they are not really righteous as they perceived themselves to be.”
“Many of them (Aquino supporters) are veteran politicians while the others are businessmen and members of so-called civil society groups who have their own vested interests to protect. This cordon sanitaire’s ubiquitous presence could ruin his political campaign,” he said.
The source refused to identify the concerned individuals except to say that most of them are also members of the Liberal Party where Aquino and his running mate Sen. Mar Roxas belong.
The congressman pointed out that unlike Aquino, some politicians who have been tagging along with the senator are not original LP members, having been with other parties before and worked “under Presidents who are not Liberals.”
The others “are not exactly politicians,” but were former political appointees “who abandoned their benefactor” during the botched impeachment trials in 2005 to 2008 and had joined the calls for the resignation of President Arroyo in July 2005.
“Some of them are seeking a senatorial seat under the LP slate while the others are expecting lucrative posts under an Aquino presidency,” the congressman said.
Separate sources, however, are wary of former Senate president Franklin Drilon and former Batanes Rep. Florencio Abad, along with some members of the so-called civil society.
“There are some who until a few weeks ago were identified with another party but quickly became turncoats after Noynoy’s popularity continued to rise,” he said. “They tag along with Noynoy simply to ride on his popularity.” But popularity alone “cannot win a presidency.”
“You have to have the resources and machinery which, at present, Noynoy does not have. And what are Noynoy’s sycophants doing? As far as we are concerned, they have not contributed anything to build up support for Noynoy in the grassroots,” the source said.
Youth group launches 'Noy it Forward' By Reinir Padua (The Philippine Star) Updated November 04, 2009 12:00 AM
MANILA, Philippines - A group of young voters rooting for presidential candidate Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III is taking advantage of the blogs and social network sites to deliver votes for him.
The group, named “Youth for Noy” believes Aquino is the “youth candidate” in the May 2010 elections.
“We’re confident that our candidate is the youth candidate… What works for us is that we can use the things that weren’t used before,” said Karl Satinitigan, manager for the National Capital Region of the group Youth for Noy.
“Now we have the Internet that has been proven (to be effective) and click with the youth but has not been used in the past elections,” Satinitigan said, referring to the past youth candidates whose camps “apparently failed to deliver enough votes for them.”
Satinitigan said the group values Aquino’s integrity.
“We honestly believe it’s more him than Chiz (Sen. Francis Escudero),” he said.
The group is recruiting 100,000 volunteers in 100 days, to help out in the campaign period starting Feb. 9.
The campaign, called “Noy it Forward,” requires each volunteer to recruit three people to join the group.
“There’s just 100 days left to plan for a crazy campaign. We’d like to make sure that in a short time, we’re ready,” Satinitigan said.
Aside from the Internet, their group will also visit dormitories to campaign for Aquino and host agenda forums.
“We’re going to where they (youth) are to convince them,” Satinitigan said.
Satinitigan said that while the youth campaign is school-based, they will also reach out to other communities. He said that even if they are coordinating with the Liberal Party about their activity schedule they are functioning and raising funds on their own.
Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro has started his own online support site, HYPERLINK “http://www.gibo.ph” www.gibo.ph, which promotes volunteerism.
Teodoro’s legal adviser and spokesperson Nelson Victorino said the portal had 106,232 page views from July until yesterday.
He said 74.5 percent of the viewers, local and abroad, have pledged to support Teodoro’s presidential plans.
“We are happy with the positive responses of the viewers from here and around the globe,” Victorino said.
He said that upon learning of Teodoro’s bid for the presidency, these viewers volunteered to be watchdogs during the elections.
“We have been receiving support from Filipinos who are registered voters but are working in the United States, Canada, Europe, Middle East, Australia, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong,” Victorino said. – With Jaime Laude
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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