Muslim intellectuals cite Teodoro's decisive action

MANILA, Philippines - Muslim civil society groups and intellectuals commended administration presidential candidate Gilbert Teodoro Jr. for the “courageous actions and decisions” he took in condemning the Maguindanao massacre.

Former Sen. Santanina Rasul said all the presidential candidates were mum on the issue of the Nov. 23 massacre that killed 57 people, including 30 journalists, except Teodoro.

“Most of our so-called political leaders remained silent except for the least rated presidential candidate,” Rasul told Muslim intellectuals and civic leaders from the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARRM) during a round-table forum on the topic “Violence in Politics and the Politics of Violence” in Quezon City recently.

Rasul said Teodoro immediately convened the ruling party’s executive committee, which voted unanimously to expel the Ampatuans “for their failure to uphold party ideals and principles in their area of jurisdiction.”

“Teodoro not only denounced the alleged perpetrators of the crime and expelled them from the administration party but he also offered his legal services to the families of the massacred victims,” said Rasul.

She said Teodoro’s action helped defuse a highly volatile political and military situation.

The ARMM forum was organized by Rasul’s “Magbassa Kita Foundation” and daughter Amina’s Philippine Council for Islam and Democracy.

Teodoro also won praises from the Wall Street Journal, which cited him as the only presidential candidate with credentials in the area of law and order. Opinion editor Brett Decker pointed out that none of the front-runners in the 2010 presidential derby has a solid background in law and order.

‘Support for Gibo mounting’

Meanwhile, support for Teodoro’s presidential bid has been growing, according to Isabela 1st district Rep. Rodito Albano, Lakas-Kampi-CMD chairman.

Albano downplayed the latest Social Weather Station (SWS) survey results which showed Teodoro’s low public acceptance rating, saying that it does not reflect what is happening on the ground.

“They can win the battle in the surveys but we are confident we will win the election war,” Albano said as he noted that the 1,200 people polled by SWS pales in comparison to the support of leaders throughout the country.

He also questioned the release of the SWS results which was conducted while Teodoro was not yet the official standard bearer of the Lakas-Kampi-CMD.

According to the SWS survey, Teodoro and vice president Noli De Castro each earned three percent of the survey, which saw Liberal Party candidate Noynoy Aquino reaching 47 percent followed by Nacionalista Party’s Manuel Villar.

Meanwhile, Abra Gov. Eustaquio Bersamin also pledged his support to Teodoro.

Bersamin said Teodoro is the only presidential candidate whose major thrust in governance is peace and stability as he pledged that election campaign and the conduct of the political exercise next year would be peaceful in his province.

In the past years, Abra has been classified as one of the country’s hotspots by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) due to the series of election-related violence.

The local leaders and executives of Abra pledged to deliver more than 50 percent of the province’s votes, Bersamin said. Abra has about 150,000 voters.

Meanwhile Cagayan Gov. Alfaro Antonio said all chief executives of the province’s key cities and towns have opted to throw their support behind Teodoro.

Key leaders in Ilocos Norte likewise said that while they are supporting the senate run of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. who is running under the Nacionalista Party, they would support Teodoro for the presidency.

Last week, key party officials of the Cebu province said they could hand Teodoro one million votes in next year’s elections.

– With Roberto Dejon, Marvin Sy