NOYNOY LEADS LP MASS OATH-TAKING / IT'S VENGEANCE FOR OPPOSITION BETS
MANILA, JANUARY 31, 2010 (STAR) Liberal Party (LP) standard-bearer Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III led a mass oath-taking of party members in various areas in Metro Manila yesterday.Aquino was in the cities of Pasay, Parañaque and Marikina to swear in local members as well as meet with supporters as the party firmed up its dominance ahead of the May polls.
Aquino said many local leaders have already pledged allegiance to the LP and he is expecting the number of members to swell by March.
But Aquino and his running mate Sen. Manuel Roxas II said they also expect attacks on and harassment of LP members to intensify as the party attracts more supporters.
The LP has raised concern over the killings of its members and supporters as well as the suspicious reshuffling of police directors apparently in time for the elections.
Meanwhile, Roxas appealed to the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to investigate the spate of election-related killings of LP local candidates and supporters even as he aired concerns over what he said could be an escalation of violence against opposition candidates.
In his letter to CHR chairperson Leila de Lima, Roxas requested for “assistance in the investigation and monitoring” of the killings in the countryside of LP local candidates.
“As a senator and president of the Liberal Party, I am terribly saddened and deeply alarmed by these incidents, happening as they did in the run-up leading to the May 2010 elections,” Roxas said.
“These murders could only be the kick-off to organized violence against opposition candidates and supporters in order to frustrate their participation and election in the people’s exercise of civil and political rights, guaranteed by no less than our Constitution, as well as international covenants, treaties and laws,” Roxas said.
He also asked the CHR to update him or any LP official on any developments on the investigations.
“As the constitutionally mandated independent office tasked to, among others, investigate all forms of human rights violations, including transgressions against civil and political rights through murder and violence, I have no doubt that your intervention in these election-related violence would certainly ensure that truth, fairness, and impartiality will prevail, paving the way for the prosecution of the persons responsible,” he said.
The LP candidates and supporters who have been murdered in separate attacks are Motalliden Pacman “Steve” Tapodoc, LP candidate for councilor in the town of Labangan in Zamboanga del Sur; Hadja Anira Abdulah Agcong, LP mayoral bet for Labangan municipality; Rascal Afdal, casual employee of the Labangan municipality and a known LP supporter; Rose Pajente, operations manager of the National Food Authority in Zamboanga del Sur and a known LP supporter; Bong Dizon, coordinator of the Noynoy Aquino for President Movement in Mexico, Pampanga; and lawyer Connie Brizuela, an LP volunteer who was among the 57 victims in the so-called Maguindanao massacre.
Injunction
Meanwhile, the LP welcomed the issuance of an injunction by a Capiz judge against the replacement of provincial police director Senior Superintendent Josephus Angan without consultation with and approval by the provincial government.
Judge Edward Contreras of Regional Trial Court Branch 17 of the Roxas City 6th Judicial Region ordered Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno and Philippine National Police chief Director General Jesus Verzosa to stop the installation of Senior Superintendent Primo Golingay or any other police official as the new provincial police director.
Capiz Gov. Victor Tanco hailed the decision and vowed not to yield to alleged machination by the Arroyo administration and its allies to sabotage an opposition victory in the May 10 national and local elections.
He asked Puno and Verzosa to honor the court’s ruling and not ignore it, as they had done in Cavite where they reportedly pursued the reassignment of the provincial police director Senior Superintendent Alfred Corpuz despite a temporary restraining order issued by the court.
The LP said the Arroyo administration is setting the stage for massive cheating in the elections with its revamp of local police chiefs without the knowledge of local executives.
Davao’s choice
Meanwhile in Davao City, Aquino led in a local survey of presidential candidates conducted by the University of Mindanao Broadcasting Network’s “Pulso ng Bayan” program.
The survey, which had 2,954 respondents, was conducted from Jan. 11 to 23.
Aquino got 36.4 percent, followed by former President and Puwersa ng Masa standard-bearer Joseph Estrada with 27.3 percent, and Nacionalista Party bet Sen. Manuel Villar with 15.1 percent.
Roxas topped the survey for vice president with 47.6 percent, followed by Sen. Loren Legarda with 15.7 percent and Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay with 12.5 percent.
In the survey for mayoral candidates, Vice Mayor Sara Duterte garnered 65.9 percent against Speaker and first district Rep. Prospero Nograles’ 16.9 percent.
Meanwhile, Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, who is running for vice mayor, got 68.3 percent as against his opponent, former mayor Benjamin de Guzman’s 13.7 percent. - Aurea Calica and Edith Regalado
'Most bets after vengeance': In vowing to go after GMA By Paolo Romero (The Philippine Star) Updated January 31, 2010 12:00 AM
MANILA, Philippines - Most opposition presidential candidates who vowed to prosecute President Arroyo for alleged misdeeds are after vengeance, not justice, a Palace official said yesterday.
Deputy presidential spokesman Ricardo Saludo was reacting to the stand taken by opposition presidential bets during the ANC Youth 2010 presidential forum held at the D y that they would prosecute Mrs. Arroyo if they get elected.
Some, like Bro. Eddie Villanueva, went as far as promising to form a special commission to prosecute her.
Eight of the country’s presidential candidates gathered in that event to convince the youth that they are fit to lead the country if elected president in the May 10 polls.
There were pointed jabs but few fireworks during the forum as the eight presidential candidates laid down their platforms of government and tackled subjects such as the
reproductive health bill, corruption, and the legacy of President Arroyo.
The eight who attended the event were former Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, Sen. Manny Villar, Sen. Richard Gordon, Sen. Jamby Madrigal, environmentalist Nick Perlas, Olongapo City councilor JC de los Reyes, and Villanueva.
In that forum, administration presidential candidate Teodoro said he should not meddle as president but anybody is free to file a case in the proper courts.
“I think these candidates should review the relevant laws. The one authorized to decide whether one should be charged or not is not the President but the courts, when (they) decide the case has merit and that is the only time there would be a trial,” Saludo told the government-run radio station dzRB.
He said it is a long-held principle that the Executive branch should not interfere in judicial processes and that cases should be filed based on evidence.
“If the President interferes, that is not justice,” he said. “We must be wary of selfish agenda of vengeance.”
Saludo said that what is really important to voters based on surveys is the platform being offered by a presidential candidate, particularly how he would lift up the lives of Filipinos.
He said Teodoro has always shone and is always the most well received in debates.
“As the Catholic bishops wisely said, we must look at the character and platforms and look beyond advertisements and survey ratings,” Saludo said.
“Does the Filipino want somebody combative or a candidate who will focus on their welfare? What the voters are looking for is not what they (presidential candidates) will do to their enemies but what their true characters are,” he said.
He said Filipinos know that making an issue about Teodoro’s political associations is “just plain politicking.”
Those who came to watch said it was Teodoro, Gordon and Aquino who made a favorable impression during the event.
‘Present your platforms’
Meanwhile, administration lawmakers led by Speaker Prospero Nograles called on presidential aspirants to stop using a hate campaign against President Arroyo as their vehicle, unless they don’t have any platform to speak of.
“I think they (presidential bets) should emphasize their own personal programs, qualifications and policies and sell themselves as candidates rather than focus on a president who will bow out of the Palace by end of June,” he said.
According to Nograles, who sits as vice chairman of the ruling Lakas-Kampi-CMD, the Filipino public “is sick and tired of politicians throwing mud at Mrs. Arroyo and using it as a stepping stone to becoming the next president.”
Nograles said presidential aspirants can file cases in court, “if they have a case to file,” but that this “can be done at the proper forum and not in a presidential debate.”
Nograles, who is seeking the mayoral post in Davao City, said it is about time that presidential candidates come up with clear platforms instead of capitalizing on Mrs. Arroyo’s weaknesses and her unpopularity.
Nograles said his advice is pointed at Aquino, Villar, Gordon, Madrigal and Villanueva, who all said that they will pursue corruption charges when the President steps down.
The only candidate who refused to join them was Teodoro, the standard-bearer of the administration party.
House Deputy Speaker for Women Amelita Villarosa and Zambales Rep. Ma. Milagros Magsaysay said simply hating Mrs. Arroyo is not a basis for electing a candidate but rather his or her platform that would safeguard the people’s interest.
“The candidates should present their program of government and stand on issues affecting the government. They need not ride on negative issues to make news,” Villarosa said.
Magsaysay said presidential aspirants should come up with suggestions on how they will address pressing issues like poverty and other social ills rather than criticize Mrs. Arroyo.
“They should give solutions to the problems besetting the country. Prosecuting PGMA doesn’t make our problems go away,” she said. “What the country needs are solutions to solve the nation’s ills.”
“The people are waiting for their platforms - do they really have the capabilities to lead this country? That is the most and urgent thing they should be addressed now instead of going to politics again and again as the shortcut route to land the headlines,” Magsaysay said.
“Present platforms of governance now,” she told presidential candidates. - With Delon Porcalla
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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