UNA challenged to present platforms

THE Team PNoy ticket on Friday dared the candidates of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) to focus on platforms of government now that the issue on common candidates has been put to rest.

The administration-backed senatorial bets said they were relieved with UNA’s decision to drop former Movie Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) chairperson Grace Poe-Llamanzares, and re-electionist Senators Francis Escudero and Loren Legarda from its slate.

This way, they said, campaign discussions will be focused on the legislative agenda offered by both Team PNoy and UNA.

“It is good that the issue of guest candidates has been resolved so that each and every bet can move forward in educating the electorate about what they intend to do if elected senators,” said Aurora Representative Sonny Angara.

Former Las Piñas City Representative Cynthia Villar, who is pushing for livelihood projects across the country, added that UNA’s decision will “enable all candidates to present their goods so that people can intelligently decide who they would vote in the coming polls”.

UNA has earlier decided to junk its three guest candidates after they have repeatedly declined to show up in sorties. UNA said it will no longer adopt candidates to have a 12-man slate and instead campaign for its nine original bets.

Eastern Samar Representative Ben Evardone, a spokesperson for Team PNoy, meanwhile likened UNA to a “sinking ship”.

“Nobody wants to be with them. It has come to a point that being identified with UNA is a ‘kiss of death’,” Evardone said in a statement.

Senator Aquilino Pimentel III, who filed his reelection papers as member of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), said UNA’s failure to field a complete slate is “a sign of being weak”.

UNA is a coalition of PDP-Laban of Vice President Jejomar Binay and the Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino of former President Joseph Estrada.

Pimentel left UNA after former Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri, whom he accused of cheating in the 2007 polls, was included in the ticket. (Kathrina Alvarez/Sunnex)