Mar: Villar is Ilonggo? I don't think so

ILOILO CITY, Philippines — After hitting Nacionalista Party standard bearer Senator Manuel Villar Jr. for his allegedly anomalous road projects and lavish spending on ads, Liberal Party vice presidential candidate Senator Mar Roxas on Friday chided Villar anew, this time for "posturing" as an Ilonggo. Speaking in Ilonggo at a press conference in Santa Barbara town in Iloilo, Roxas – who had wanted to run as LP’s standard-bearer until he decided to give way to Senator Benigno Simeon “Noynoy" Aquino III – derided Villar for saying Iloilo was his "home province." Villar can't even complete a sentence in Ilonggo, Roxas said. "Itong taong ito na katunggali ni Senator Noynoy, pumupustura bilang isang GI (This opponent of Senator Noynoy is posturing as a GI)," Roxas said later when asked to translate to Tagalog what he said in Ilonggo. Roxas, a native of Capiz province, which is right beside Iloilo, said he was "hurt" by Villar's "posturing" as GI or "Genuine Ilonggo." "Meron pa siyang ‘welcome to my home province’ sa airport pero makasalita ba siya? Alam ba niya ang kostumbre natin (He even has a 'welcome to my home province' banner in the airport but can he speak the language? Does he know our customs)?" said Roxas. The LP national candidates are in Iloilo, the home province of party chairman and senatorial bet Franklin Drilon, for the second leg of their nationwide electoral campaign. The party kicked off the official campaign period last Tuesday in Tarlac, Aquino's home province. [See: Noynoy seeks God's help at campaign kick-off in Tarlac] With over 1.1 million registered voters, Iloilo is one of the top 10 most vote-rich provinces in the country. It is governed by Niel Tupas Sr., an LP stalwart. Iloilo City Mayor Jerry P. Treñas, an NP candidate, is eyeing a congressional seat. In the 2004 presidential elections, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo won handily over Fernando Poe Jr. with more than 500,000 votes compared to Poe's more than 80,000. Villar is rumored to be the "secret" candidate of administration party Lakas-Kampi, but ruling party officials insist that President Arroyo is supporting the candidacy of administration standard bearer former Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. - Jam Sisante/LBG, GMANews.TV