UNA to Team PNoy: People don’t go to rallies to be entertained

SAN JOSE Del MONTE, Bulacan, Philippines – People attend United Nationalist Alliance (UNA)’s political rallies not because they want to be entertained, a party official said yesterday.

“Even if you eat fire or broken shards of glass, people will not come if they don’t like you,” UNA secretary-general Toby Tiangco said.

Tiangco was reacting to the statement of Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone, spokesman for the administration’s Team PNoy, to leave dancing and entertainment skits to the carnival and not bring them on the campaign trail.

“Rep. Evardone again shows his contempt for the masa by claiming that all they want is to be entertained during rallies. I would even dare say that Evardone is a hypocrite for saying this, since he also uses entertainers in his campaign. At least now the people of his district know what Rep. Evardone really thinks about them,” Tiangco said.

“Evardone is saying that the people are shying away from LP events because they have no entertainers. That is clear elitism,” he added.

Tiangco noted that the crowds in UNA’s rallies in Northern Mindanao stayed on after the entertainment numbers and listened to the candidates discuss their platforms.

“Our candidates tackled the pressing concerns of Mindanaoans – the looming power crisis, peace and order, food security, children’s welfare, public health. These issues are important to the people of Mindanao who know better than Rep. Evardone,” he said.

UNA campaigned in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan yesterday after barnstorming through Northern Mindanao.

Tiangco said the Liberal Party (LP) coalition is showing signs of falling apart, citing the small crowd in their campaign sorties and absence of candidates even in rallies attended by President Aquino.

“Despite having the resources of the administration at its disposal, LP coalition rallies fail to attract huge and enthusiastic crowds... Just look at their poorly attended events in Mindanao,” Tiangco said.

“In all sincerity, I pity Sen. (Franklin) Drilon. His appeal to the candidates to attend their events has been ignored. This is the first time I’ve seen a campaign manager being ignored by his candidates,” he said.

Tiangco said UNA’s political rallies on the other hand are “welcomed enthusiastically” by the people.

“We know that local officials have been warned by the LP and the DILG (Department of the Interior and Local Government) against hosting UNA events, but this has not prevented the people from turning out in big numbers and expressing their support for our candidates,” Tiangco said.

Tiangco said Evardone and other LP supporters are resorting to name-calling and misdirection to divert attention to the state of LP campaign rallies.

“In trying to defend the thin crowds attending their rallies, Evardone now wants to go against basic logic and common sense,” he said.