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Senators to Mikey: Who among presidential bets are opportunists?


Identify the opportunists. Senators are urging Juan Miguel “Mikey" Arroyo to name the presidential aspirants who are allegedly attacking President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo but are also seeking support from her administration through backdoor channels. “Mikey should identify these Trojan horses so we could punish them," Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel said Wednesday in a text message to reporters. Pampanga Rep. Arroyo earlier claimed that he and his mother’s allies had been approached by presidential wannabes to clarify that they were not really against Mrs. Arroyo but had to criticize her in public as part of their political posturing. “There are presidential candidates who are hitting the President and yet they were doing some back-channeling through our allies," Rep. Arroyo earlier said. While endorsement from the President will not help them in their bid, the aspirants could be thinking that they needed to get the blessing of Mrs. Arroyo’s network of supporters because her allies could move to lessen their chances of winning in the May 2010 elections," according to the presidential son. Sen. Panfilo Lacson said Rep. Arroyo should substantiate his claim instead of issuing unfounded accusations. “Pero kung meron siyang alam dapat sabihin niya para ma-unmask ang mga ito at para rin maka-discern ng mga tao kung sino ang tunay na opposition, sino ang kunwaring opposition at sino ang di opposition na nagpapanggap na opposition," Lacson told reporters. (If he knows something, he should disclose it to unmask them so that people would be able to discern who among them belong to the true opposition.) Last month, Lacson dropped his plan to run for president due to lack of funds. For his part, Senator Manuel Roxas II said he couldn’t be among those that Rep. Arroyo was referring to. “I have never been engaged in such games and will never be a part of that game. Besides when (President Arroyo) attacked me, she made it very clear the presidentiable most different from herself (was) Mar Roxas," the senator said in a text message to GMANews.TV on Wednesday. Roxas is expected to be the Liberal Party’s standard bearer in next year’s polls. - AMITA O. LEGASPI, GMANews.TV

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