Villar caps first campaign day with song, fireworks

Senator Manuel Villar Jr. on Tuesday evening capped the first day of his 90-day campaign for presidency with a song number. Villar (Nacionalista Party) sang the Willie Revillame hit "Ikaw Na Nga" before a jampacked Banga town plaza in Calamba, Laguna amid a shower of orange confetti. A fireworks display put a punctuation mark to the event shortly before 10 p.m. Revillame, a popular television host who supports the candidacy of Villar, asked the crowd to light up their cellphones while Villar, his running-mate Sen. Loren Legarda, and NP's senatorial candidates held hands. Revillame said he was not paid to endorse Villar. "Hindi ko binebenta ang kaluluwa ko. Walang halagang pinag-uusapan. Sa mapagkakatiwalaan tayo... Ito ang taong pinagkakatiwalaan namin," he said. (My soul is not for sale. There was no talk about money. I support him because I trust him.) Some parts of the rally were patterned after Revillame's noontime show, Wowowee, over at ABS-CBN.

The poor guy In his speech before his song number, Villar asked why it was hard for his rivals and critics to accept that a person from a poor family can get rich and even become a President of the country. "Napakahirap ba na ang isang mahirap ay pwedeng yumaman sa malinis na paraan? Napakahirap ba isipin at takang-taka sila? Napakahirap ba sikmurain na ang isang anak mahirap ay pwedeng mangarap na maging pangulo ng Pilipinas?" he said. (Is it that difficult to believe that a poor guy can get rich can get rich in a legal way? Is it wrong for a poor guy to dream to become a president of this country?) This remark elicited applause and cheers from the crowd. Villar has been accused of using his position to benefit financially from the government's C-5 road extension project. Most of those who went to watch the campaign rally were wearing orange, the party's signature color for the campaign. Before the kickoff rally, the senatorial candidates held a motorcade on several parts of Laguna, rounding Biñan, Balibago, Sta.Rosa Public Market, Cabuyao and then Calamba. Loren wax nostalgic Legarda said the motorcade reminded her of the 2004 presidential campaign when she was the running-mate of the late Fernando Poe Jr. She lost to incumbent vice president, Noli de Castro. "Parang balik yung 2004 na FPJ, I have to mention that. Yung mga tao na sumisigaw ng aking pangalan sa kalsada, pagsugod ko sa palengke, yung mga tao na minamasahe ang tyan ko at kinukurot ako (The reaction of the crowd reminds me of 2004, with FPJ)," Legarda told reporters at the backstage of the NP's kickoff rally. Legarda, who always places second in vice presidential surveys next to Sen. Manuel "Mar" Roxas II of Liberal Party, described the experience as "heartwarming." "It's so heartwarming. Ang araw na ito ay nagpatunay na ang tunay na survey ay nasa laksada, sa iba't ibang lugar (This shows that the real survey is on the streets)," she said. Laguna Gilbert Remulla, NP senatorial bet and spokesperson, said they chose Laguna as the venue of their kick-off rally because the party considers it as its "challenge area." "We haven't been on top [of the surveys] in Region 4," he said. Region 4 (Calabarzon), composed of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon, is one of the vote-rich areas in the country. The NP ticket will be in Cavite on Thursday, Batangas on Friday, Pampanga on Saturday, and Quezon on Sunday.- KBK, GMANews.TV