Manny fights ‘Villaroyo’ tag, cuts Noynoy’s lead to 8 pts

By Butch Fernandez

From Business Mirror

Link: http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=23993:manny-fights-villaroyo-tag-cuts-noynoys-lead-to-8-pts&catid=26:nation&Itemid=63

NACIONALISTA Party (NP) standard-bearer Sen. Manuel Villar bounced back in the end-March Social Weather Stations survey with a 29-percent rating, cutting the lead (from 12 to 8 points) posted by his closest rival, Liberal Party (LP) presidential bet Sen. Benigno Aquino III, in an earlier Pulse Asia survey.



Admitting that his survey ratings were partly affected by the “Villaroyo” tag thrown at him by his opponents, Villar revealed in an interview that he was, in fact, having problems recruiting supporters in the countryside to back the NP campaign because President Arroyo herself had been stopping local leaders from doing so.



“Alam mo, problema ko nga ngayon, mga sumasali sa amin pinipigil ng Pangulo,” Villar said over the weekend. He recalled that since October last year, there were many party recruits who were ready to join the NP campaign “pero tinatawagan ng Pangulo at pinipigil.”



Up to now, he added, the administration Lakas-Kampi-CMD is working on beefing up its ranks, holding party meetings to stop defectors from leaving. “Hanggang ngayon ay nagpapalakas pa ang Lakas at nagpa-meeting at talagang kinukumbinsi lahat na huwag lumipat ng partido.”



This shows, Villar said, that the “Villaroyo” tag and other black propaganda linking him to Arroyo and here husband, Miguel, were all blatant lies spun by his “panicking” political foes. But he added that he expected more of these underhanded tactics to intensify as election day draws near.



“Patuloy ang aming panliligaw sa mga local officials at maraming sumasama sa amin, at syempre marami ring napipigilan ang administrasyon,” he said, even as he insisted that “kalaban namin ang [Arroyo] administrasyon. Nililiwanag namin na oposisyon kami. In fact, hindi pa kami nag-usap ng Pangulo simula na ako ay alisin nila na pangulo ng Senado. Hindi ako humihingi ng pera at wala akong balak na humingi ng pera sa kanila.”



Villar explained that before believing his opponents, voters should realize that he was once Speaker of the House where most of the incumbent congressmen and governors, who were former congressmen as well, were all his allies in the nine years that he served in the House of Representatives.