Aquino assigns siblings, Purisima to handle campaign funds

by Gil C. Cabacungan Jr. (Philippine Daily Inquirer)http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20100214-253175/Aquino-assigns-siblings-Purisima-to-handle-campaign-funds

Takes leadership of campaign

MANILA, Philippines -- Liberal Party standard bearer and Sen. Benigno ``Noynoy’’ Aquino III is taking a personal hand in his campaign in the wake of reports that his motley team of supporters has been wracked by factionalism and clash of ideas on how to run a campaign.

Aquino said for one, his sisters and Cesar Purisima, former trade secretary in the Arroyo administration, have taken over the task of managing the campaign finances.

Aquino led a general assembly of his troops at the ``Balay’’ headquarters of LP at Araneta Center in Quezon City last Saturday morning attended by his campaign team’s top players, including his running mate, Senator Mar Roxas.

In a phone interview, Aquino said the general assembly was meant to ``fine-tune’’ his organization, which he stressed has been running for only five months compared to his rivals who have been in operations in the last two to three years. ``I realized there is not one person who is directing the show so I decided to take a direct hand because in the end, I will be responsible for everything,’’ said Aquino.

Roxas, in a phone interview, said that Aquino was ``inspirational’’ during his talk in the general assembly and that he was impressed by his childhood friend’s take-charge attitude.

Aquino has remained number one in all the major surveys on presidential candidates but his lead was not as dominant as it was five months ago when he formalized his run for the highest office. Nacionalista standard bearer and Senator Manuel Villar has drawn himself into a "statistical tie" with Aquino in the latest Pulse Asia survey.

Whether or not Villar’s rise in the ratings were bolstered by his massive ad spending (which Aquino claims was 10 times his budget), Aquino and his supporters consider the billionaire real estate developer as a major threat and this has prompted a review of the group’s campaign strategy in the week before the start of the official campaign last Tuesday.

Aquino shrugged off persistent reports that his campaign team -- made up of LP stalwarts such as former Senate President Franklin Drilon , the Hyatt 10 group of former Arroyo Cabinet members led by former Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz Jr. and Social Welfare Secretary Dinky Soliman, his sisters and relatives led by television host Kris Aquino, the Coryistas (loyal supporters of the late former president Corazon Aquino), and loyalists of Roxas – has been imploding especially with the shrinking of his lead in the opinion polls.

``People should understand we are a coalition of many forces coming from all sectors. We are not a monolithic organization with a top-down management,’’ said Aquino in explaining the reported differences between his supporters. He said his campaign has been composed of politicians, street parliamentarians, religious group members and environmentalists.

Although he did not reveal any troubles within his group, Aquino cited the challenges in merging a vastly disparate group seeking to deploy traditional and unconventional ways of campaigning.

``Somebody has to merge the political structures in our group and coordinate our procedures, talk with the personalities and assign their respective functions’’ said Aquino, noting that his sisters and former Arroyo Finance and Trade Secretary Cesar Purisima have been assigned to take over the team’s financial matters.

Aquino said that he hoped to create more consensus building in coming up with a unified campaign strategy to bring his message more effectively and efficiently to its target market. He said a special focus of the team would be how to improve the deployment of volunteers during the campaign season.

Aquino said that his sister, actress and TV host Kris Aquino might not join his sorties based on the ruling of the Commission on Elections. ``We don’t know when it will be resolved," he said in explaining why Kris would take a step back from the campaign.

But he said the Comelec ruling constrained free speech and freedom of expression. "There is a provision in the Constitution, Article 3 which states that no law should abridge the freedom of the press. We give higher priority to an individual’s rights and when you endorse that’s a personal choice,’’ said Aquino.

Aside from the campaign, Aquino said that he was also preparing for the governance aspect of the job he was seeking. ``You are supposed to have competency in all aspects of government so I am doing it. Nobody can be master of everything, but I want to know precisely what I don’t know,’’ said Aquino.

Rumors of poor health have also hounded Aquino who is a smoker. ``I have some physical activities like breeze walking. I’m just worried about the adrenaline surge I get when I see the crowds and warmth of their support in the rallies because I tend to forget that I’m hungry or tired,’’ said Aquino.