Aquino, Cabinet members to campaign for Team PNoy

THERE is no stopping President Benigno Aquino III and his Cabinet secretaries from campaigning for the senatorial candidates of the Liberal Party-led coalition, Team PNoy.

Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said Aquino's decision to join Team PNoy's campaign trail "involves governance." "The presence of the President will involve governance in all things that he does," he said.

"Those are events of the President. You cover them regardless of whatever the President does…That's part of the President's work as a president and, in furtherance of his agenda, this is part of those measures that the President would like to do. And part of this pushing forth the agenda of the President is to campaign for the people he wants elected," he added.

The Palace official also defended the presence of several Cabinet secretaries in political sorties, saying that they are allowed to campaign and support political candidates.

"Let's take it two-fold: legally, there is no prohibition. Supreme Court has already rendered a decision on that. That being alter-egos of the President, we are allowed—and being political appointees—we are allowed to campaign and there is no prohibition with that aspect," he said.

"On governance, we need the senatoriables—the people that the President has chosen—to help us in the reform measures. So that's the reason why we believe in the candidates of the President. We stand side by side with the senatoriables of the President and so we believe that we are in a position to also convince our countrymen the need to elect the 12 chosen candidates of the President," he further said.

He also said that the presence of Cabinet officials in sorties that the President will be attending is inevitable since their expertise is needed in certain event.

But he said that the expenses of officials who are not members of LP will be shouldered by the administration party as he assured that no single centavo will be spent for the campaign operations of administration's slate.

Malacanang, likewise, said that the President will not abandon his duties in running affairs of the State while campaigning.

Aquino formally endorsed the 12 senatorial candidates of the LP-led coalition during the proclamation rally at the historic Plaza Miranda, in Quiapo, Manila, on Tuesday.

They are Aurora Representative Juan Edgardo "Sonny" Angara, Paolo Benigno "Bam" Aquino, Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano, Senator Francis "Chiz" Escudero, former Akbayan representative Risa Hontiveros, Senator Loren Legarda, former Senators Jamby Madrigal and Ramon Magsaysay Jr., Senator Aquilino Pimentel III, Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, former Las Piñas representative Cynthia Villar and former Movie Review and Classification Board chair Grace Poe Llamanzares.

Aquino said he personally selected these people believing that they will be able to push forward the administration’s reform agenda. (Jill Beltran/Sunnex)