Villar not Arroyo's man, NP ally insists

A senatorial bet of the Nacionalista Party on Thursday defended Sen. Manuel Villar Jr., the party’s standard-bearer, against allegations of a secret alliance with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. In a statement, former Marine Col. Ariel Querubin, detained for allegedly leading government troops in trying to overthrow the Arroyo administration in 2006, vowed to resign from Villar's party if indeed it were true the senator had allied with the administration. "I know Senator Villar, he will never ally himself with this administration. Such baseless claims are fueled by the political rivals of [Villar], who had since been catching up in the surveys," the statement quoted Querubin as saying. Last Wednesday, Sen. Benigno Aquino III alleged that Mrs. Arroyo and Villar have entered into an "unholy alliance" for the May 10 elections. "By the day, it is becoming clear that an unholy alliance is developing between this administration and my opponent. No wonder the Palace spokesman couldn’t restrain himself in expressing his gratitude to one of my opponents for keeping quiet on the many issues confronting this administration," Aquino said on Wednesday. That same day, a Pulse Asia survey conducted January 22 to 26 showed Aquino and Villar statistically tied in terms of voter preference for the coming May polls. [See: Aquino, Villar neck and neck in latest Pulse Asia survey] Kiss of death? For his part, NP spokesperson Gilbert Remulla maintained that Villar is not Mrs. Arroyo's other presidential bet. Former Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro is the administration standard bearer. "Kiss of death po iyan. Bakit po namin gugustuhin iyan (Being allies with Mrs. Arroyo is a kiss of death. Why would we want that)," Remulla said in an interview on dzBB radio earlier in the day. Querubin and Remulla are both running for senator under the banner of the Nacionalista Party headed by Villar. Querubin is presently detained in Camp Aguinaldo in connection with the alleged attempt to overthrow the Arroyo government in February 2006. - Sophia Dedace/RSJ/KBK, GMANews.TV