Sunday, February 18, 2007
Campaign tactics give voters a peek at Unity Ticket’s uneasy alliances
A COALITION of strange bedfellows, the administration’s Unity Ticket spent the day in Cebu for a proclamation rally, but at least five took the time to campaign on their own as well.
Reelectionists Ralph Recto and Joker Arroyo began their leg of the senatorial campaign in Balamban town in western Cebu yesterday morning.
Candidates Tessie Aquino-Oreta, Edgardo Angara, Prospero Pichay and Arroyo also called for individual press conferences, which allowed them to speak up on such local issues as the creation of new provinces and the rivalry in Cebu City’s south district.
“I saw a lot of political bickering. There was little economic growth then,” said Angara, when asked why he joined the administration ticket.
He also clarified that he is still in the opposition, being an official of the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP), but coalesced with the administration upon the invitation of President Arroyo, “so the country can move on.”
Misconception
Angara said he was number five in Cebu when he first ran for senator in 1987 and number three when he sought reelection in 1992. However, he lost in Cebu in the 2001 elections, “maybe because of the misconception that being in the opposition” he has done nothing to improve people’s lives.
“Politics should go beyond the issue of parties or affiliation. The candidates and the voters must focus on principles, platforms and programs, which are the real essence of politics in the first place. We must get out of this highly partisan mindset,” Angara said.
A critic of the President, Senator Arroyo also joined the administration lineup.
“We were adopting a neutral stand based on our principle of what was right or wrong and there was nothing unusual with that,” Arroyo said, in explaining his and Recto’s decision to become part of Team Unity.
“I ran in 2001 under the People’s Coalition. I was in the party already and I should remain in the party now,” Arroyo said in a talk with reporters last night at a local restaurant.
No Cha-cha
He and Recto split from “Wednesday Group” allies Sen. Francisco Pangilinan and Manuel Villar, who both chose to seek reelection as independent candidates.
“I am opposed to Charter change and if reelected I will continue to oppose it. But between amending the Charter and destabilization, which is the goal of the opposition, I would rather have the first one,” Arroyo said.
Of the candidates who were here yesterday, Recto and Arroyo covered the most ground. They took a helicopter from Cebu City to Balamban, before flying back to the city for the proclamation rally of the administration’s senatorial ticket.
Recto, sponsor of the Domestic Shipping Development Act (Republic Act 9295), chose Balamban as his first provincial campaign stop because of his interest in shipbuilding.
RA 9295, approved in May 2004, supports the country’s shipping industry, including shipbuilding and repair, by encouraging a modernized and safe domestic merchant marine fleet through fiscal incentives.
Recto and Arroyo toured two ship manufacturing companies, the Aboitiz-affiliated Tsuneishi Heavy Industries (THI) Inc. and Aboitiz-owned FBMA Marine Inc.
Balamban Mayor Alex Binghay assured Recto and Arroyo of the town’s vote, but made it clear that this does not mean an endorsement of the whole Team Unity.
While the Aboitiz Group accommodated Recto and Arroyo, Roberto “Bobby” Aboitiz, AboitizLand chief executive officer, said this does not mean they are supporting the senatorial candidates.
The Aboitiz Group, he said, does not want to dabble in political affairs. It is only interested in good governance and in “showing off” locally made ships, Roberto said.
When asked if Aboitiz is willing to invite other senatorial aspirants to their companies in Balamban, Aboitiz said, “I will invite the world.” (JGA/EOB/AIV)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (February 18, 2007 issue)
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