We didn't campaign at Camp Aguinaldo, Villar says

Lipa City, Batangas - Nacionalista Party candidates on Friday denied that the unity walk they took at a military camp was formed part of 'campaigning.' "Wala naman akong nakikitang ibang tao dun, puro sundalo lang. "Kung kami ay mangangampanya dun na kami sa maraming tao," NP standard bearer Senator Manuel Villar Jr. told reporters in a press conference after his visit at two markets in Batangas province. (I didn’t see any other people there. There were just soldiers. If ever we planned to campaign, we should have held it at a crowded place.) He said NP candidates walked and raised their arms together to show support for their detained senatorial candidate Col. Ariel Querubin the compound of Intelligence Services of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP). Campaigning is disallowed at military camps, including Camp Aguinaldo where the ISAFP headquarters are located. He further said that Querubin was not even allowed to talk to the media to express his sentiments. "Ni hindi nga siya (Querubin) nakapagpainterview at ni hindi siya lumabas nang matagal. Pagkatapos ng photo ops ay balik na agad siya. Ipinakita lang na kami ay united at wala akong nakikitang pangangampanya dun," Villar said. (Querubin didn’t even allow himself to be interviewed. Not did he go out with us for long. He went back after the photo ops. The NP candidates just showed and expressed our unity and I don’t think any campaigning took place.) In a separate interview with GMANews.TV, Querubin's son, Martin, also insisted that no campaigning happened when his father was visited by colleagues Thursday saying the pose was part of expression of support. "It's not campaigning, it's just a pose, just a way of showing the unity of the party where the detainee is part of. It wasn't campaigning kasi wala naming (because there weren’t) speeches," he said. On Thursday, the AFP assailed NP for having a unity walk with Querubin inside Camp Aguinaldo. [See: AFP chides Villar, partymates for unity walk inside camp] Political analyst Ramon Casiple believed that the NP team campaigned during the controversial visit. "Yes. Precisely because the camp is a public place and the media is there," Casiple said in a text message to GMANews.TV - GMANews.TV