Liberals to UNA: What surveys?

What survey are you talking about?

That was Malacañang’s reaction to the statement of United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) secretary-general Toby Tiangco that the senatorial candidates of the Liberal Party are lagging behind in surveys.

“From the last survey that I saw, there are a good number of candidates in the LP slate that were up there. I don’t know what survey this particular spokesperson was looking at,” deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said yesterday.

Tiangco took exception to President Aquino’s statement that other candidates need to resort to premature campaigning because they have to catch up with their rivals.

But Valte said the administration could not be accused of premature campaigning, noting that the event in the Mandaue City sports complex where Aquino endorsed the candidacy of LP candidates was merely a party meeting and not a campaign sortie.

“From what I understand, the event in Cebu was a local LP event. That was not a sortie... it was a local LP event and all the LP leaders were there,” Valte said.

Among the LP candidates in the Cebu event were Aurora Rep. Sonny Angara, former senators Ramon Magsaysay Jr. and Jamby Madrigal and Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III. Las Piñas Rep. Mark Villar, who represented his mother former congresswoman Cynthia Villar, and former Akbayan representative Risa Baraquel were also present.

During the meeting, Pimentel said he wants a full six-year term as a senator. “If you give me a full six-year term, I will show you what I can do as a senator. I am against all forms of cheating. As you know, I fought hard for this. Please feel free to approach me if you know of one. I’m your public servant in the Senate,” he said.

Madrigal called on the voters not to forget her name and to vote straight LP.

The President also pitched for the senatorial candidates of LP during a dialogue with executives of Radyo Mindanao Network in Malacañang last Jan. 10.

Eight UNA candidates and four from the LP- led coalition topped the recent Social Weather Stations survey.

Sen. Loren Legarda was number one followed by senators Francis Escudero, Alan Peter Cayetano, Villar, San Juan Rep. JV Ejercito-Estrada, Pimentel, Cagayan Rep. Jack Enrile, Sen. Gringo Honasan, Nancy Binay, former senator Juan Miguel Zubiri, Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV and former senator Richard Gordon.

Don’t look at us – UNA Tiangco maintained that LP and not UNA is engaging in early campaigning.

“LP was campaigning ahead of all us,” he said, citing LP’s television advertisement.

He said LP candidates have also been going on provincial sorties since August.

Tiangco said LP candidates have to resort to early campaigning to boost their chances of winning.

“With all due respect to the President, we find it amusing that he would take issue with our supposed early campaigning during a political event organized by the LP and attended by some of the LP coalition candidates whom he asked the public to support,” Tiangco said.

“It’s not UNA that needs to catch up and prove themselves. It is actually the Liberal Party that has more to prove. LP can spin the facts in whatever way they wanted, but there is no getting around the truth: their candidates are the ones who need to catch up,” he said.

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