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I am not Arroyo's lapdog, Gibo assures public


Administration party standard-bearer Gilberto Teodoro on Tuesday strongly denied being President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s lapdog, appealing once more to the public to look at his platforms and not his affiliations. “Hindi ko na kailangang iharap ang sarili ko kanino man, sa ating mga kababayan kung ako ay magiging tuta lamang. Hindi ako ng tuta ng kahit na sino," Teodoro told GMANews.TV after his interview with broadcast journalist Mike Enriquez on the special radio program “Ikaw Na Ba: The Presidential Interview" aired over dzBB on Tuesday morning. [Listen to the full interview here.] (There is no need for me to face our countrymen if I’m just somebody’s lapdog. I am nobody’s lapdog.) In the radio interview, Teodoro said “stereotyping" him as Mrs. Arroyo’s lapdog is “very bad," adding that he and the President are two different persons. “Sa aking pananaw, ‘yung ganyang klaseng bigotry o bias ay hindi maganda. ‘Yung pangalan ko, ‘yung dangal ko ay hindi ko kayang ibenta kahit magkano o kahit kanino man," he said. (In my opinion, this kind of bigotry or bias is not good. I can never sell to anyone my name and my honor.). “Inaasahan naman natin na matured na ang ating mga kababayan… (I expect that our fellow Filipinos are already mature.) You have to judge people as people," he added. The Lakas-Kampi-CMD presidential bet likewise said that his presidency would never be similar to Mrs. Arroyo’s administration, since his personality and the problems he would face if he wins would be different from that of the President. Magkaiba kami ng personalidad ng ating pangulo… Iba ang mga hinaharap na mga suliranin… Ang pinag-aralan ko, iba sa saklaw din ng ating pangulo. Iba ang approach ng ekonomista sa abugado," he said. (The President and I have different personalities. We both face different challenges. What I’ve specialized in is different from what the President has specialized in. An economist and a lawyer have different approaches to problems.) However, in the same interview, Teodoro said that Mrs. Arroyo has been giving him suggestions on how to handle his candidacy. He added that he still has the final say on how he will run his campaign. “Once in while, nagmumungkahi s’ya. Pero nasa sa akin ‘yun. Hindi na ako batang maliit (One in a while, she makes suggestions, but I still have the final say on things. I am not a little kid anymore)," he said. Teodoro, who currently serves as Lakas-Kampi-CMD president, also said he would never turn his back on the President and on his party, even if his political affiliations could cost him the presidential race. “Ako ay tumatakbo na hinirang ng Lakas-Kampi-CMD. I will stand and I will fall on that… Hindi ko naman kukunsintihin ang katiwalian, pero hindi ko naman gagawin ang madramang paraan para lamang manalo," he said. (I am running because I was nominated by Lakas-Kampi-CMD. I will stand and I will fall on that… I will never tolerate corruption, but I will not resort to dramatic means just to win.) Teodoro, who continues to place fourth in presidential preference polls, has been hounded by criticisms that his links with Arroyo is hurting his candidacy. Survey results indicate that Arroyo’s endorsement is equivalent to a “kiss of death," with 58 to 79 percent of people saying that they would not vote for a candidate backed by the President. - RJAB Jr., GMANews.TV

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