MANILA, Philippines - Though still trailing in the surveys, administration presidential candidate Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro yesterday vowed to work harder and attain the top spot in the coming weeks ahead of Election Day.
“I’ll not stop till I’m number one,” Teodoro declared before the 2010 National Convention of the Chamber of Thrift Banks (CTB).
Teodoro made the remark in reply to the latest surveys showing his significant gains in the mostly four-cornered presidential fight.
He said the survey results do not necessarily mean the leading candidate is already the winner.
Teodoro urged voters to focus on the qualifications and capability of the candidate, instead of popularity.
He said local support would definitely spell the difference on Election Day and overturn the results of the surveys.
Teodoro is looking forward to campaigning at the grassroots level when the local campaign period kicks off on March 26.
He said his chances are greater once the campaign period for local candidates kicks off to start the local machinery of the administration party Lakas-Kampi-CMD that would translate to 25 percent more votes.
Teodoro bolted from the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) founded by his uncle Eduardo Cojuangco Jr. and joined Lakas-Kampi-CMD where he was made standard-bearer of the administration.
Teodoro stressed nobody owns him and he is his own man.
Teodoro made the response to criticisms made by his cousin Lisa Cojuangco Cruz.
Cruz had claimed her father felt insulted by Teodoro when he left NPC.
Cruz added her mother Gretchen also became angry and was forced to issue a statement that they would support any candidate except Teodoro.
Teodoro, on the other hand, emphasized that issues involving him and his uncle are a family matter.
“That has nothing to do with the Filipino people. It is beyond me already. What we are talking and dealing here now is the country and not the feelings of a particular individual or families,” Teodoro said.
Expecting to hear more from his cousin and other critics, Teodoro said he is not going down to that level. He likened the issue to his association with President Arroyo.
Teodoro said he would just focus on winning more votes during the campaign.
If some people think that they owned him and the country, they are mistaken because he is his own man and no family owns the Philippines, Teodoro said.
“The issues here are politics, not family matters,” he stressed.
As far as he is concerned, Teodoro said, he has already given his whole heart to the country, not to a single individual or family. — With Christina Mendez, Jose Rodel Clapano