President Benigno Aquino III is not
out to check if his allies in the provinces will support the entire
administration slate in the upcoming midterm polls, his spokesperson
said Wednesday.
In a phone patch
interview, presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda denied a statement
from the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA), the administration's rival
coalition in this year's elections, that the President is already
conducting loyalty checks on Liberal Party members on the ground.
"Wala hong loyalty check po na nangyayari ngayon. I think they're just
deflecting the issues right now on the performance of the Team UNA
candidates vis-à-vis the Team PNoy candidates based on the surveys that
have just been released," Lacierda said.
He added that the President is satisfied with the performance of administration candidates in recent surveys.
On Tuesday, UNA campaign manager Tobias Tiangco came out with the
statement accusing LP of being "jumpy and paranoid" in the last few
weeks leading up to the elections. Aquino chairs the ruling Liberal
Party.
"Loyalty checks are a sign of desperation
and panic. Hindi nila kayang kontrolin ang mga leader nilang
sumusuporta sa UNA," Tiangco said.
He attributed
the supposed "undue pressure" being exerted by the ruling party on its
allies to Albay Governor Joey Salceda's move to meet with UNA candidates
in his province over the weekend. Salceda heads the LP in the Bicol
Region.
Lacierda countered Tiangco's claims by
saying that the LP has "no reason to panic," since it has the upper hand
in the senatorial race based on pre-election survey results.
"Nagpa-panic ho kami dahil 9-3? Medyo baliktad ho yata ‘yung, ano,
‘yung kung sino dapat ang mag-panic. Siguro, ano na ‘yan, trabaho na
lang po ng kabilang panig," the President's spokesperson said.
The
latest Pulse Asia survey showed that of the 16 candidates who have a
"statistical chance of winning," 11 are from the LP-led coalition while
five are from UNA.
On Tuesday, Aquino said he still trusts Salceda, whom the President described to being "extra hospitable" to UNA bets who visited Albay last Sunday. — Andreo Calonzo/RSJ, GMA News
On Tuesday, Aquino said he still trusts Salceda, whom the President described to being "extra hospitable" to UNA bets who visited Albay last Sunday. — Andreo Calonzo/RSJ, GMA News
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