UNA visits Angeles City

ANGELES CITY – Senatorial candidates of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) led by Vice President Jejomar Binay held a sortie in this city on Wednesday.

Vice mayoralty candidate Mark Allen Sison said Binay endorsed the coalition's senatorial bets in the May 2013 elections namely Nancy Binay, Tingting Cojuangco, JV Ejercito, Jack Enrile, Richard Gordon, Gregorio Honasan, Ernesto Maceda, Mitos Magsaysay and Juan Miguel Zubiri.

"We're so thankful for the support of my kabalen and the Vice President. UNA is very honored and proud to have its first assembly here in Central Luzon," Sison said.

UNA secretary general Tobias Tiangco said his group cannot be accused of premature campaigning saying: "We are not violating any law. We are doing what is legal."

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has conceded that there is no law against premature campaigning. The poll body cited a Supreme Court decision saying that those seeking elective posts are only considered candidates at the start of the campaign period.
Zubiri, in an interview at the Pampanga Public Market, said on Wednesday that Pampanga and other major provinces in Central Luzon, except for Tarlac, will not be effective bailiwicks of President Benigno Aquino III's Liberal Party (LP) adding that the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) will be able to gather votes especially from Pampanga.

Zubiri said they expect that in Tarlac, the home province of the President, the LP will make a heavy delivery of votes, but will not mean zero votes for UNA candidates.

He added that UNA will also be received well by voters in Bataan where some of UNA candidates have previously helped in the amendments of the Bataan EcoZone laws.

"The Vice President and former president Erap are strong in Bulacan, Nueva Ecija and Bataan. So their endorsements for UNA in these provinces would weigh highly on the senatorial candidates," Zubiri said.

Binay was unable to attend the event due to a very important commitment in Manila, according to Sison.

Though three guest senatorial candidates Loren Legarda, Francis Escudero, and Grace Poe-Llamanzares were not able to attend the UNA rally, Zubiri said they are welcome to join the UNA sorties.

Zubiri added that they leave the faith, with regards their status, in the party to Binay, former President Joseph Estrada and Senate president Juan Ponce Enrile.

UNA is a coalition between Binay's Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) and former President Joseph Estrada's PMP. It is the self-styled "constructive opposition" to the Aquino administration. (Reynaldo G. Navales and Ian Ocampo Flora)