'Pro-Gibo' streamers hang along key Manila road

Streamers that seemingly promote Defense Secretary Gilberto "Gibo" Teodoro Jr. appeared along España Boulevard in Manila's Sampaloc district over the weekend. The group behind the streamers - Kakampi at Lakas ng Mahihirap (KLM) - made "GIBO" (in big red letters) as acronym to its slogan that goes: Get Intelligent, Brave Outstanding president for 2010. It was not clear if the KLM was a play on the name of the administration coalition's Lakas-Kampi-CMD, which intends to field Teodoro as its standard bearer in 2010. While the rest of the nation spent the weekend paying their respects to their dead, members of the shadowy KLM group hung the streamers that seem to promote the Defense Secretary, who has been groomed as the administration party’s standard bearer for 2010.

The inscriptions under the “GIBO" message was: “Yan ang pinuno, taong bayan ng Maynila (That’s our leader, people of Manila)." GMANews.TV tried to get in touch with Teodoro and presidential political adviser and Lakas-Kampi-CMD’s secretary general Gabriel Claudio to confirm whether the banner came from their camp. The two Cabinet officials, however, could not be reached as of posting time. Several presidential candidates and their supporters have been accused of circumventing a Commission on Elections law against premature campaigning. While the Comelec bars campaigning before the campaign period, such a ban covers only those who have formally filed their certificates of candidacy. The campaign period for candidates running for national posts starts February 10, or 90 days before Election Day. The period for those running for local posts starts March 15, or 45 days before Election Day. In the meantime, several candidates who announced plans to run for president in 2010 have been featured in ads in print, broadcast and Internet media. - GMANews.TV