MANILA, Philippines - Presidential sister Kris Aquino has endorsed Rep. Florencio “Bem†Noel of the party-list group An Waray for the mayoral post in Tacloban City.
Noel is a close friend of President Aquino, the two of them having been members of the opposition when Aquino was a Tarlac congressman during the Arroyo administration.
He is also a trusted colleague of Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. He chairs the House committee on accounts, the panel that manages the chamber’s funds.
Kris told a Team PNoy rally in Tacloban over the weekend that on her way to the city, the President had sent her a text message to remind her that Noel is his “close friend and a loyal ally.â€
“Tell everyone to support Bem and that if he wins, I will give Tacloban City whatever it needs in just one call from its mayor. That is the specific request that P-Noy is making,†she quoted her brother as saying in his text message.
She said if Tacloban residents heed the President’s request, the mayoral race would already be over and Noel would make it.
Kris flew to Tacloban with Sen. Francis Escudero and Grace Poe of Team PNoy.