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MetroVanIndependent.com
October 2015
News
Political Roundup
Bongbong to run for vice president in a post contested
by four others while Pacquiao wants a senate seat
Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos
Jr declared he is running for vice president
Monday evening.
The son and namesake of the late
dictator Ferdinand Marcos said he
will campaign against "the politics of
personality," which helped cause poverty
and corruption.
Marcos said he will support Davao City
Mayor Rodrigo Duterte should the mayor
decide to run for president. Last week, he
flew to Davao City to consult the mayor on
his 2016 political plans. Duterte has yet to
make a final decision on whether or not to
run for president.
Marcos also said he decided against
running with opposition standard-bearer
Vice President Jejomar Binay despite talks
that spanned two months because it would
be “difficult to tame political differences.”
Binay was a human rights lawyer who
fought the dictatorship of the senator's
father. The Vice President was jailed under
martial law, and became a loyal supporter
of the elder Marcos' rival, former President
Cory Aquino.
This developed as Liberal Party vice
presidential standard bearer candidacy
was launched at Club Filipino in Greenhills
Monday.
“If there is one lesson that I learned
after the death of my husband, it is that
we can never really plan too far ahead,”
Camarines Sur 3rd District Representative
Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo said.
Her candidacy for vice president was
announced in a gathering at the Kalayaan
Hall of Club Filipino. Those pushing Leni
into a vice presidential run compare her
Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.
to the late President Cory Aquino. Like
Cory, Leni is a widow who entered politics
to continue her husband's legacy. Leni’s
background and clean image make her
winnable, supporters say, her low survey
numbers notwithstanding.
A September Pulse Asia survey showed
her trailing behind her vice presidential
rivals, ranking 10th. Former Quezon
representative Erin Tañada said it would
not be difficult to improve her numbers.
“It’s not hard to sell her. She has no
baggage. It's very easy to campaign for
her.” For her first sortie as vice presidential
aspirant, Robredo has chosen to visit the
province of Negros Occidental on Tuesday,
a bailiwick of her standard-bearer Manuel
“Mar” Roxas II.
Meanwhile, former mutineer and now
senator Antonio Trillanes IV on Saturday
formally declared that he will run for vice
president nine days before the start of the
filing of Certificates of Candidacy in the
upcoming 2016 national elections.
Trillanes announced his intention to run
in a speech during the Magdalo group's
general meeting at the Amoranto Sports
Complex, Quezon City.
"Sa inyong pasya ako po ay tatakbo
bilang bise presidente ng ating bansa sa
darating na halalan,” he told the Magdalo
crowd.
“Ako ay naniniwala na habang ang
ating layunin ay i-ahon ang ating bayan,
ayusin ang ating gobyerno at tulungan ang
ating kapawa — at lalo na habang tayo ay
nagkakaisa — tayo ay magtatagumpay,”
he also said.
Magdalo par t y-list Rep. Ashley
Acedillo, who introduced Trillanes, said
before Trillanes gave his speech that the
group will support Sen. Grace Poe as its
presidential candidate.
Trillanes made the group's endorsement
of Poe official by reading a resolution that
the Magdalo had earlier passed.
Poe's running mate Sen. Francis "Chiz"
Escudero meanwhile said in a statement
that he wishes Trillanes luck.
“He is qualified and has every right to
offer himself for higher office and service...
I wish him all the best,” he said.
He also thanked Trillanes for supporting
Poe's presidential run.
“By embracing Senator Grace’s
platform of government, he is one with all of
us in our vision for a government that truly
cares and genuinely serves the people.
This is very much appreciated,” he said.
Trillanes is a member of the Nacionalista
Party, of which another member and
colleague, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano also
announced his vice presidential bid on
Tuesday.
He first won a seat in the Senate in 2007
while in detention for his involvement in the
Oakwood Mutiny in 2003.
World boxing champ and Sarangani
congressman Manny Pacquiao also
formally declared, his widely expected
Senate run, but did not say under which
party banner he would be running.
Pacquiao is reportedly under pressure
from advisers and political allies to break
away from the United Nationalist Alliance
(UNA) of Vice President Jejomar Binay, but
the boxer is known to value loyalty and has
made a commitment to support Binay.
Malacañang has been cold to Pacquiao,
with Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim
Henares filing a tax evasion case against
him. Pacquiao’s beef with President
Benigno Aquino III started in 2009, when
he made a dig at the then presidential
candidate for the latter’s lack of hair.
Manny Pacquiao formally declares his senatorial
bid. Photo by Edwin Espejo/ Rappler
Leni accepts LP’s VP
Aquino’s budget execs
offer despite failing to get face graft probe
daughters’ full support
After much hemming and hawing,
Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo has
accepted the Liberal Party’s offer to
become its vice presidential candidate,
sources revealed.
The formal announcement of her
candidacy, however, is expected to be
made Monday by LP standard bearer
Mar Roxas together with the complete
senatorial lineup of the Liberal Party.
Citing sources from within the party,
sources said Robredo has agreed to
Aquino’s personal plea for her to run
alongside former Interior Secretary Mar
Roxas even though her eldest daughter,
Aika, remains opposed to the idea.
However, the source said LP was
confident that Robredo would be able to
convince Aika to back her decision ahead
of the ruling party’s official announcement
of its vice presidential candidate and
senatorial slate on Oct. 5.
Senator A lan Pete r Cayetano’s
announcement he will be running for
vice president was said to have fueled
speculations that Robredo will be Roxas’
running mate.
Cayetano has not said whether he will
be running as an independent candidate,
or with a presidential aspirant.
Leni Robredo.
Earlier this week, Robredo told
reporters that she had asked more time
from LP to come up with a decision about
its offer for her to run for vice president
because she has to allay her daughters’
apprehensions about the campaign.
“I’m not OK [with running], until my
children are OK with it,” she said.
PNoy, however, confirmed Robredo
has agreed to run for VP. Senate President
Frank Drilon, head of the Upper Chamber
for the 16th Congress, likewise said
Robredo will be Mar Roxas running mate.
A top adviser to Philippine President
Benigno Aquino is facing a corruption
investigation, a government agency
revealed in what could be a potential blow
for the President Aquino who has built a
reputation as a graft fighter.
The Philippine Ombudsman, an antigraft agency, said the adviser, Budget
Secretary Florencio "Butch" Abad, and
his deputy, Mario Relampagos, are "facing
preliminary investigation for technical
malversation and administrative charges".
The case was related to the transfer of
funds to government projects outside of
what was approved by Congress, it said.
Aquino had made fighting corruption
a priority of his administration but he has
struggled to keep scandals involving allies
and friends at arm's length.
Graft allegations are far from new in the
Philippines and little has changed despite
Aquino's reform drive.
Abad, who ser ved as Aquino's
campaign manager for a 2007 Senate
election and the presidential election
in 2010, denied wrongdoing, and said
he welcomed the investigation of the
disbursement program.
"Technical malversation does not
suggest that the individuals in question
committed acts of graft or corruption,"
Abad said in a statement.
He said he and Relampagos "acted
in good faith and with regularity in the
performance of their official duties" and
their action helped accelerate public
spending and boosted the economy.
Last year, the Supreme Court declared
parts of Aquino's disbursement program
unconstitutional, particularly the transfer of
funds amounting to more than 280 million
pesos ($5.99 million) from the executive
department to other government branches.
The court decision was a big blow
to Aquino's program to stimulate the
economy, dealing a setback to his bid to
portray himself as a champion of the fight
against corruption.
The Ombudsman said some projects,
like the construction of legislative library,
were not among those approved by the
president, and so were a clear violation of
the law.
Aquino will step down next year at the
end of a single five-year term, as allowed
under the constitution.
A May presidential election will be
closely watched by investors, who fear
the political succession in one of Asia's
fastest growing economies could derail
gains made during his rule.
Under Aquino, the Philippines has seen
economic growth of more than 6 percent
on average, its best 5-year record in four
decades.
Reuters. Reporting By Manuel Mogato