Political news , opinions and views for 2010 Presidential election

April 12, 2010

Noynoy: Please spare my mother

Also takes umbrage over fitness report
 
By WENDELL VIGILIA
From Malaya
Link: http://www.malaya.com.ph/04122010/news1.html

LIBERAL Party standard-bearer Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino yesterday warned Sen. Manuel Villar and his Nacionalista Party not to drag his mother, former president Corazon C. Aquino, into their efforts to vilify him through black propaganda.

"Sa akin, di bale, alam ko ganyan ang mangyayari sa kampanya. Pero kung may issue sa nanay ko na patay na e sinasama pa sa kwentong kabulastugan, sobra-sobra (na iyan)," he said.

Text messages and propaganda have been spreading in cyberspace blaming Mrs. Aquino for the Hacienda Luisita dispute and for the alleged appointments in the government of her relatives during her incumbency.

The NP has been harping on the legacy left by Noynoy’s parents, Cory and Ninoy, saying it does not make him an heir to the presidency.

Aquino said his detractors are already hitting him and his family below the belt in desperation because of his consistent lead over Villar in surveys.

"Sign ’to na desperado na (si Villar). Sa Tagalog, ang tawag kapit sa patalim. Pero lalabas yung katotohanan. Sabi ng tatay ko, `how do we fight falsehoods and lies? With the truth,’" he said.

Aquino’s warning came after the latest attack allegedly by the NP, which portrays him as psychologically unstable based on a fabricated document which the NP allegedly fed to ABS-CBN.

Tina Monzon-Palma, a seasoned broadcaster, informed Aquino in a press conference in Davao City last Friday that the fake psychiatric documents came from the NP, from which news anchor-reporter Ces Oreña-Drilon based her story.

The Ateneo de Manila University Psychology Department has already disowned the documents which alleged that Aquino suffered from depression in 1996.

Its alleged author, Fr. Carmelo "Tito" Caluag, called the document "bogus" while the school noted that he is neither a psychologist nor a psychiatrist.

The university denounced the propaganda as an "attempt to vilify a person’s character through the spreading of false information."

In General Santos City, NP vice presidential candidate Loren Legarda and senatorial candidates Liza Maza and Col. Ariel Querubin, represented by his son, maintained that the physical and mental fitness of a person seeking the highest position of the land is a valid concern.

Martin Querubin, speaking for his detained father, said even if Aquino is a rival, such black propaganda is "unacceptable."

"We should not tolerate a fake document such as that to circulate or to go around the media and society because that is something that is foul and below the belt. We denounce that kind of black propaganda from whoever it’s from… we are denouncing black propaganda. Naturally, hindi po naming gagawin ang kasamaan na aming nilalabanan," he said.

However, Querubin clarified that issues being raised with regards to mental health is a very valid issue "because the presidency is a very sensitive position."

"We need a commander in chief that is stable, who can guide 200,000 AFP personnel and give them the mission orders as effectively as possible. Hindi natin pwedeng hayaan na hindi balanced ang pagiisip ng kung sino man ang commander in chief," he said.

Maza and Legarda said Aquino should face the issue squarely.

"Valid issue na kung mayroong issue sa mental capacity ng tumatakbo, dapat harapin ito para once and for all mapanatag ang lahat na hindi totoo ang mga paratang," Maza said.

Legarda said: "Karapat dapat lamang na ang kandidado sa pagkapangulo at lalong-lalo na ang vice presidente na magpayahag ng estado ng kanyang kalusugan sa physical, sa psychological at sa mental. Napakahalaga dahil ang Pangulo ang siyang mamumuno ng 96 million na mga Pilipino."

Another NP senatorial bet, Gilbert Remulla, said the country could not afford a president "who has lucid intervals."

Sen. Pia Cayetano, also an NP bet, said the issue "is not a laughing matter." "Ang chief executive nga, kapag na-ospital nasa dyaryo na," she said, stressing the need for a president to be mentally and physically fit. – With JP Lopez

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