from Business Mirror
http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=22502:ex-minister-estrella-can-doom-noynoys-palace-bidremulla&catid=26:nation&Itemid=63LIBERAL Party (LP) presidential bet Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III can kiss his presidential bid good-bye once former agrarian-reform minister Conrado Estrella Sr. tells all that he knows about the “blood-soaked history” of Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac.
Nacionalista Party Rep. Crispin “Boying” Remulla of Cavite issued this statement on Tuesday in reaction to comments made by Estrella over the weekend that he is willing to testify on the Hacienda Luisita controversy involving Aquino’s family if invited by Congress to a public hearing.
“Minister Estrella can certainly deal Noynoy what I’d call a presidential candidacy-killer. Thus, I do not expect Noynoy or anyone from his camp daring Mister Estrella to spill the beans or to unearth the ‘skeletons’ buried at Luisita,” said Remulla.
“By skeletons, I am, of course, speaking figuratively, although a number of farmers have already been killed over the issue. But who knows what other can of worms might just be opened should Congress initiate an honest-to-goodness, no-holds-barred investigation on Luisita?” he stressed.
Remulla pointed out that Estrella may know a lot about how the family of Aquino, especially the Cojuangcos, willfully violated the terms of their acquisition of Hacienda Luisita to escape distributing the same to farmers.
“Let us not forget that it was Minister Estrella who first asked Aquino’s family in 1967 to honor the terms of their P5.9 million loan from the GSIS [Government Service Insurance System] which allowed them to purchase Luisita, along with Central Azucarera de Tarlac.”
“Forty-five years ago, Mr. Estrella had already been asking why Aquino’s family had kept Luisita for themselves when they had promised in 1957 to distribute the land to farmers 10 years down the road,” Remulla pointed out.
As a stalwart of the Nacionalista Party (NP), Estrella said any statement he would give on Luisita would only be brushed aside as “politically motivated” by Aquino and the LP.
Villar dares Gordon to prove buy-out bid
MEANWHILE, Sen. Manuel Villar, NP standard-bearer, dared Bagumbayan Party presidential bet Sen. Richard Gordon to prove his allegation that Villar, through an emissary, earlier offered to buy him out of the presidential race.
“Babayaran kita…bibigyan kita ng Cabinet post,” Gordon quoted Villar’s emissary as saying in a radio interview on Tuesday, purportedly in exchange for withdrawing from the presidential race.
Gordon declined to name Villar’s agent, but said the offer was made at the height of a supposed plot to oust Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile over a committee report recommending Villar’s censure for alleged conflict of interest in the C-5 Road Project scandal.
In an ambush interview, Villar strongly denied the allegations, challenging Gordon to identify the “common friend” that Villar sent to convey the offer to reimburse Gordon’s campaign expense and appoint him to any Cabinet post of his choice.
“Wala akong pinapaatras at handa naman akong harapin kahit sino sa isang patas na labanan,” Villar told reporters.
Villar also challenged Gordon to reveal the identity of the “common friend” that made the offer. “Marami talaga ang naninira ng kapwa kandidato sa kanilang kampanya. Binabalaan ko rin sila na mag-ingat sa pagpupukol ng kung ano-anong alegasyon,” Villar added.
But NP senatorial bet Gilbert Remulla, in a separate interview, also debunked Gordon’s claims, saying, “Senator Gordon is not a top contender in the presidential race to begin with.”
Remulla added that “Gordon’s numbers are not that significant [and will not go to Villar in case he withdraws from the race], so what he is saying is impossible.”
Defensor catches up in QC mayoral race
QUEZON City mayoral candidate Mike Defensor is fast catching up in the hotly contested race in the city.
Pulse Asia survey results for February 15 showed Defensor is now trailing Vice Mayor Herbert “Bistek” Bautista by a mere 6.1 percent after garnering a 36.4-percent preference rating.
Bautista is still leading with 42.5 percent.
Defensor’s rating jumped by 30.4 points to close in on his rival, who dropped by 42.5 points. Results of a Social Weather Stations survey released in January gave a 6-percent rating to Defensor and 75 percent to Bautista.
Although Bautista is still ahead, strategists of Defensor are already upbeat on the development as it positively reflects the aggressive awareness program they implemented.
“This survey is very inspiring for our candidate and for the people who actually made the public aware that Mike Defensor is running,” Team Defensor general campaign manager Vic Rodriguez said.
He attributed the improved preference rating of Defensor to the aggressive awareness program pursued by the team, citing the impressive track record of Defensor in his past national-government positions.
Teodoro gets support in Malabon, Navotas
LIKE in the Ilocos region and the Cordilleras, officials of Malabon vowed to work hard to help ensure the victory of Lakas-Kampi-CMD presidential candidate Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro in the presidential elections.
Teodoro campaigned in the town on Tuesday, which marked the start of his visits of key cities in Metro Manila after barnstorming provinces in Northern Luzon and Baguio City.
Lakas-Kampi-CMD Rep. Ricky Sandoval of Malabon-Navotas and Malabon Mayor Tito Oreta both said Teodoro is the most qualified among the presidential candidates.
“Gibo is the most intelligent [among the presidential candidates]. As a colleague in Congress, I admire him for his objectivity as he always listens to reason. He is also a consensus-builder, which is a very good trait for a national leader,” Sandoval said.
Like the other members of the administration party, Oreta and Sandoval believed that Teodoro’s survey rating will dramatically rise once the campaign for local position starts.
There are at least 280,000 voters in the two towns.
Sandoval revealed that in a local survey done in his congressional district last week, Teodoro is closely following Nacionalista Party bet Manny Villar.
An earlier survey showed that LP candidate Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III is top, with the former defense chief getting only a handful of votes.
“He has a good chance here in Malabon. I belong to Lakas, the mayor is also from Lakas and so are the majority of the councilors,” Sandoval said.
Oreta said Gibo has the backing of at least six to eight Malabon councilors, who promised to work hard for the administration presidential bet.
(B. Fernandez, F. Marasigan, R. Acosta and J. Perez)
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