Nacionalista Party endorses BBM-Sara

MANILA, Philippines — The Nationalista Party, led by tycoon and former Senate president Manuel Villar Jr., has endorsed the tandem of presidential aspirant and former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and his running mate Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio.

In a statement released yesterday, Villar said his party “fully supports” the candidacy of the so-called UniTeam.

“We believe that Bongbong and Inday Sara’s message of unity is crucial in binding our country together and inspiring our people as we rebuild not only from the pandemic, but also from the political chasm that divides us,” the statement read.

“They both have the platforms of government, qualifications and track record to lead our country toward unity and prosperity,” it added.

The country’s richest man on an individual count in the Forbes roster of Filipino billionaires, Villar, whose sprawling business empire includes real estate, supermarkets, retail, internet and water supply, deviated from the usual trend among businessmen of being non-partisan, when he publicly announced his support for Marcos and Carpio.

“For the May 2022 elections, the Nacionalista Party fully supports the candidacies of Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. for president and Inday Sara Duterte for vice president,” Villar, president and chairman of NP, said in a statement posted on his Instagram account.

Villar’s endorsement came a day after he posted a birthday greeting for Duterte, congratulating him for a “job well done.”

Also called the brown taipan in the business community, Villar, the country’s second richest man on a non-individual count or next to the Sy siblings, saw his net worth increase to $6.7 billion in 2021, up $1.7 billion from the previous year and reflecting a stellar growth from being outside the Forbes Top 10 richest Filipinos in 2016, when he was just on the 12th spot.

Aside from the growing Villar business empire, Villar’s family is also in various branches of the government: son Mark was part of the Duterte Cabinet as secretary of the Department of Public Works and Highways until he resigned to run for the Senate in the May 9 elections; daughter Camille is the representative of the lone district of Las Piñas and wife Cynthia is an incumbent senator.

Marcos’ camp yesterday welcomed the endorsement of the party.

In a separate statement, Marcos said he is “very happy” with the endorsement.

“That is good, that all friends and allies are already uniting,” he added.

Recently, the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) and the National Unity Party had also endorsed the tandem.

Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats president Martin Romualdez also lauded NP’s endorsement, saying its support “will certainly make a difference as we work hard to consolidate forces and support for the UniTeam tandem in this crucial period of the campaign.”

Strong lead

Marcos has maintained his strong lead over his rivals with just about a month left before the May 9 elections, according to the latest pre-election survey by research firm Laylo.

Based on the survey conducted from March 15 to 22, Marcos garnered votes from 61 percent of the 3,000 respondents nationwide.

Results showed a dominant 42-point lead over his closest rival Vice President Leni Robredo, who got 19 percent.

In third place is Manila Mayor Isko Moreno with nine percent, followed by Sen. Manny Pacquiao with six percent and Sen. Ping Lacson with two percent.

Marcos topped in all regions, with the Solid North delivering the highest voters’ preference rating: 86 percent in Ilocos Region, 86 percent in the Cordillera Autonomous Region, 84 percent in Cagayan Valley and 62 percent in Central Luzon.

The Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) standard-bearer also dominated the numbers in Mindanao: 80 percent in both Davao Region and Caraga, 67 percent in SOCCSKSARGEN (South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, General Santos), 66 percent in Zamboanga Peninsula, 63 percent in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and 55 percent in Northern Mindanao.

Results in terms of demographics also showed the runaway lead of Marcos in all classes.

He registered 58 percent voters’ preference rating in Classes ABC, 62 percent in Class D, and 58 percent in Class E.

The Laylo survey had a sample of 3,000 respondents and a margin of error of ±2 percentage points.

Earlier this month, Laylo also released a survey for the local elections, where re-electionist Mayor Joy Belmonte dominated the mayoralty race in Quezon City.

Belmonte garnered a dominant 66 percent of the 750 respondents in all six districts of the city during the survey conducted from Feb. 21 to March 3.

She led by 38 points over her closest rival, Anakalusugan party-list Rep. Mike Defensor, who got 28 percent. – Edu Punay, Roel Pareño, Emmanuel Tupas