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By Francis Earl A. Cueto, Reporter
THE Genuine Opposition has
started investigating reports that its senatorial candidate Manny
Villar has junked his ticket mates in favor of rivals in Team Unity.
Adel Tamano, GO spokesman, told
reporters the opposition coalition has started to investigate Villar
after GO sample ballots from Bulacan turned up with the names of
rival candidates from Team Unity.
Tamano said GO elders led by
former Ambassador Ernesto Maceda, Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay and
Sen. Franklin Drilon called for the inquiry.
Villar said in a statement he
doesn’t owe the GO leaders an explanation.
“I am an independent candidate.
I have no intention of explaining to Binay. I have never interfered
in the politics of GO. I do not owe them any explanation,” he
said.
“Anybody can print sample
ballots. I thank them for the inclusion of my name. I appreciate
being a guest candidate but I never interfered with the policies of
GO. I campaign all of my teammates,” Villar said.
The reports said Villar was
secretly campaigning for Senators Joker Arroyo and Ralph Recto who
are in the administration Team Unity’s slate, and Sen. Francis
“Kiko” Pangilinan, who is running as an independent. Villar and
the three senators had formed the Wednesday Group, all of them
having come from the House of Representatives.
Villar reportedly has junked the
front-running GO candidates to enhance his own chances of winning.
Loren Legarda has consistently
topped the surveys by the Social Weather Stations and Pulse Asia.
“It is a serious accusation
[junking of fellow GO candidates] and we are hearing a lot of it,”
Tamano said.
The sample ballots were first
seen in Las Piñas, Villar’s bailiwick, and Muntinlupa.
Reports said Villar was
practically being “endorsed” by local candidates in Bulacan from
both the opposition and administration tickets.
But the slots for senatorial
candidates were filled in with the names of Wednesday Group members.
Villar supposedly funded the
printing of the sample ballots being distributed by mayoral bets in
Bulacan.
Arroyo was listed as No. 2 in the
sample ballots supposedly intended for distribution in Paombong,
Calumpit, Malolos and Hagonoy. The ballots for Marilao and Bustos
carried the name of another TU candidate, Prospero Pichay.
All the sample ballots had
another reelectionist senator from TU, Edgardo Angara, while
Pangilinan and Michael Defensor were in either the fourth and fifth
slots.
Rounding off the list in the
sample ballots were Cesar Montano, Tessie Aquino-Oreta, Ralph Recto,
Luis “Chavit” Singson, Vicente Sotto 3rd and Juan Miguel Zubiri,
all from Team Unity.
The ballots endorsing former
Hagonoy Mayor Felix “Toti” Ople, son of the late Senate
President Blas Ople who is running for congressman, had Arroyo in
the No. 2 slot.
Ople is vying against Marivic
Alvarado, the wife of Rep. Wilhelmino Alvarado who is in turn
running for vice-governor in the ticket of former governor Roberto
Pagdanganan
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