Staffers of Ping, Chiz help in Noynoy's campaign

MANILA, Philippines – The staff of Senators Francis Escudero and Panfilo Lacson are among the various groups working for the campaign of Liberal Party standard- bearer Sen. Benigno Aquino III.

Aquino said he was grateful for all the assistance he was getting but would not want to speak for his co-senators whose staff members were now helping him.

The group PiNoy Lawyers is taking care of the legal aspect of the campaign while the National Institute for Policy Studies, the think tank of the LP, conducts research for the policies Aquino will announce in public.

Former Social Welfare and Development Secretary Corazon “Dinky” Soliman, Change Politics Movement convenor, said in a recent seminar that Aquino’s camp was enjoying the support of a lot of socio-civic and non-government organizations and they would be mobilized to conduct house-to-house campaign for Aquino, his running mate Sen. Manuel Roxas II and other LP bets. Soliman said their volunteers were committed to work for the victory of LP, along with the other supporters who could reach 300,000 to 600,000.

Soliman was present in the birthday celebration of Aquino in Payatas, Quezon City on Feb. 8, where alumni of the Ateneo de Manila University, Aquino’s alma mater, provided the food.

Aquino said he would not want to speak for Escudero and Lacson but expressed happiness that he was getting all the help he needed to run the campaign.

He stressed that even the celebrities endorsing him were not receiving any talent fees and were even the ones spending for themselves during tapings of their commercial.

But Aquino said the celebrities did not have much participation in his campaign yet, except for his very first infomercial.

Rumors galore

But the LP is not without its share of intrigues.

Rumors had it that Aquino was backing Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay as vice president and not Roxas. Binay is the running mate of former President Joseph Estrada, who is seeking reelection under Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino.

However, Aquino was quick to nip the intrigues in the bud. He said it was very evident that he was with Roxas because he had been campaigning for his running mate everywhere he went.

“I am campaigning for my running mate who is Mar, I am always with him. Mar and I worked on our platform. Jojo Binay is my friend but I am for my partymate,” he said.

“I always say too that with Mar I am very confident that what I am fighting for will be pursued if I am no longer capable of fulfilling them,” he added.

The Roxas camp has refused to comment the issue being spread by the Nacionalista Party (NP).

LP insiders said there were indeed some groups who had pushed for an Aquino-Escudero tandem even after Roxas had announced his bid for the vice presidency.

But the kinks have obviously been ironed out because Escudero eventually decided not to run for higher office, a move that was welcomed by Aquino and Roxas.

Insiders said that the Aquino camp also got various factions composed of his uncle Jose “Peping” Cojuangco, his sisters, his relative Rapa Lopa, the members of the Hyatt 10, the Cabinet officials of President Arroyo who resigned and the civil society groups. But the insiders said these groups were now working with one another.

Aquino earlier said there was already a “division of labor” to cover all the provinces during the campaign.

Even former Sen. Sergio Osmena III, who assailed the entry into LP of former Sen. Ralph Recto, had set aside his differences with the party and joined the campaign.

Roxas has also been supporting Aquino through the organization he built as early as 2007 for his presidential bid, insiders said. But Roxas had to give way to Aquino when people showed more support for Aquino as LP standard bearer after the death of his mother, former President Corazon Aquino in August.

Sources said Roxas even lent Aquino the bulletproof car that his family had leased for him.