MOBBED by his supporters and fans, administration Senator Ramon Revilla Jr. said Friday his sincerity as a public servant made him always on top of all the surveys among the senatorial candidates for the May 10 polls.
"As a celebrity and a politician we are that popular, but what matters here is the reception of the people to a candidate and how a candidate carries himself in public."
Revilla along with another senatorial candidate Ramon Guitco launched their campaign in the province that kicked off in Kabankalan City, in the south, and in Sagay City, in the north.
Revilla, chairman of Senate committee on public works and social services, passed 103 bills pertaining to education, concerns of the youth sector, health, environment and infrastructure.
He has donated P1 million for indigent patients in Bacolod and Negros Occidental at the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital in 2009.
From Kabankalan City, Revilla met some local officials in the province and spoke at the Business Inn Hotel in a gathering of barangay officials from the fourth district of Batangas who visited Bacolod City.
He also met with Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia and other city officials and employees at the New Government Center.
Revilla also met with the Mono Team at the Bacolod Pavilion Hotel.
"Both Leonardia and Puentevella are my friends,” he said. Mono is a political group of incumbent mayor Monico Puentevella and Renecito Novero. Puentevella is running for reelection while Novero is seeking a congressional seat.
Revilla said he would continue working for the welfare of the people from the provinces at the Senate. He was former governor of Cavite.
He said he knows what's best for the people in the barangays.
On the news that Lakas-Kampi-CMD's vice presidential bet Edu Manzano is backing out from the race, Revilla believes that it is not true. "It could only be tismis (gossip)", he said.
Revilla said, he heard about the news the other day but it's not yet confirmed. "I haven’t seen him for a long time. I only see him once during our proclamation rally in Rizal and after that I have not met him. I only met Presidential candidate Gilberto Teodoro in Baguio two days ago,” said Revilla.
Like Revilla, Manzano is also an actor and a host of a defunct game show.
"I hope not, he should have done that before. If he do that, that's not healthy because we're at the middle of the war. I don't believe that", he added.
Guitco, on the other hand, said he is supported by more than 800 municipal mayors all over the country.
He said, when he becomes senator, he will work out for the equal sharing of the Internal Revenue Allotment between the national government and the local government units.
Guitco is the president of the Municipalities of the Philippines.