MANILA: The United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) said yesterday it “is no longer obligated” to include Senators Francis Escudero and Loren Legarda and former Movie and Television Review and Classification Board chair Grace Poe-Llamanzares on its list of senatorial candidates after the three failed to show up at campaign sorties of the opposition coalition.
“We tried our best to accommodate them. We know that the LP (Liberal Party), through Sen Franklin Drilon, has warned them repeatedly about joining our election activities,” UNA secretary general Toby Tiangco said.
The three were considered “common candidates” of the UNA and the LP-led Team Pnoy.
Tiangco said Escudero, Legarda and Poe-Llamanzares had promised to attend UNA campaign sorties in exchange for their being included in the coalition’s senatorial slate.
“Unfortunately, none of them have taken any concrete move or extended any meaningful gesture to assure us that they will live up to their commitments,” Tiangco said.
“On the contrary, public statements have been made by one of them ruling out participation in UNA events. It is clear that they have made up their minds. We need to move on,” Tiangco said.
He did not name names, but he was apparently referring to Poe-Llamanzares, who said earlier that her agreement to be in the UNA slate was not anchored on any condition.
“The decision to drop the three guest candidates is only fair for the nine UNA senatorial candidates who have been going through sun and rain to campaign,” Tiangco said.
“I remain good friends on personal level with Escudero, Legarda and Poe-Llamanzares even as I enforced the decision to drop them as UNA bets,” Tiangco added.
In Iloilo City, President Aquino laughed off UNA’s move to drop the three from its senatorial slate, saying they were believers in the administration’s advocacies anyway.
“And remember, it’s a six-year term so even by the time that I step out of office, these are the people who can continue the transformation of our country. Therefore, it behooves me to really push and press and campaign as much as possible for each and every one,” Aquino said at the provincial capitol.
Team PNoy campaign manager Drilon said it was the three’s decision to skip UNA’s campaign sorties and that the ruling coalition had nothing to do with it.
“That is their decision. They are part of Team PNoy,” Drilon said. “We have not prevented anyone (from attending UNA sorties) and even President Noynoy has not prohibited anyone.”
Meanwhile, UNA candidates campaigned yesterday in the coastal village of Calaguiman, Samal town in Bataan.
Samal Vice Mayor Emmanuel Cortez, lone UNA mayoralty candidate in Bataan, said Estrada is likely to draw considerable number of votes for UNA candidates as he had done so in the past.
“As the campaign fever heats up, we are bringing our advocacies for better governance to more and more people so that the Filipino voters can make an intelligent choice when it is time for them to troop to the polling stations on May 13, 2013,” candidate Cagayan Representative Jack Enrile said.The Philippine Star
