Noynoy courts vote of Imelda's home province of Leyte

TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte—Senator Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III went to Leyte Tuesday in a bid to convince this vote-rich province, formerly considered a bulwark of former First Lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos, to back him up in the May 10 elections. "Tayo po'y dito susuyo, dito sa ating mga kapatid sa Leyte (We’re here to try to win over our brothers and sisters in Leyte)," Noynoy said in a news conference at the Daniel Z. Romualdez airport here in the provincial capital. Imelda Romualdez was raised in Leyte, where she became a local beauty queen before her whirlwind courtship and marriage to Ferdinand Marcos, then a young congressman from Ilocos Norte, in the 1950s. The Marcos-Romualdez alliance eventually ruled the Philippines for 20 years, persecuting other rival political clans including those of Noynoy’s parents, martyred senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. and the late President Corazon Cojuangco Aquino. Noynoy, however, said he is confident that he can gather enough support in Leyte for his presidential bid. "Maganda ho ang pagtanggap sa 'tin nung senatorial race and I expect siguro the same or even more (We enjoyed excellent support in the last senatorial race and I expect maybe the same or even more)," he said, adding that he is grateful for the support of the Liberal Party’s provincial stalwarts such as Vice Governor Ma. Mimietta Bagulaya, who is running for reelection unopposed. Noynoy has a chance In a separate interview, Vice Gov. Bagulaya said Noynoy stands a chance to gain the favor of the province’s electorate, even though Imelda hails from Leyte. "Hindi naman ito Marcos country (This is not Marcos country)," Bagulaya said, adding that the influence of the Romualdezes are no longer as formidable as perceived, as indicated by Alfred Romualdez's loss to broadcaster Ted Failon in his congressional bid in 2001. Bagulaya said she has not even "felt" the impact of the senatorial campaign of Imelda's son, Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., who is running under the Nacionalista Party banner of Noynoy's closest rival, Senator Manuel Villar Jr. At least three members of the Romualdez clan are currently holding elective posts in the province: first district congressman Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, son of Imelda's brother Benjamin or “Kokoy"; Alfred, now Tacloban City mayor; and Alfred's wife, former actress Cristina Gonzales, who is seeking reelection as city councilor. Martin is a known close ally of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who enjoyed the province’s overwhelming vote in the 2004 presidential elections. Mrs. Arroyo got a solid 332,715 votes in Leyte while her closest opponent, opposition bet Fernando Poe Jr., received only a little more than 25,000. Despite Mrs. Arroyo’s good showing in Leyte in the 2004 elections, Bagulaya said administration bet Gilberto Teodoro Jr. is not a strong contender in the province. "Gibo is not GMA," she said. "Of course iba yun, iba ang magiging perception (Of course that’s different, he’ll create a different perception)." Rampant talks of ‘jumping ship’ Mayor Roque Tiu of Tanauan town, the president of the Leyte chapter of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines, said there is talk among local politicians in Leyte and nearby Samar island about shifting support to the political parties of more “winnable" candidates because of Teodoro's poor showing in presidential surveys. Tiu himself jumped from Lakas-Kampi-CMD to LP a few months ago. Around 80 percent of local officials in Leyte are allied with Lakas-Kampi-CMD, Tiu said, but many of them are considering shifting their to some other political party if Teodoro's ratings do not improve by April. Tiu said some mayors are just waiting for cues from their congressmen. "Sabi nila (mayors) pag ang mga congressman naglipatan, ganun din sila, na sasama sila sa mga congressman," Tiu said in a separate interview. (The mayors said that if the congressman started shifting, they will do the same, that they will join the congressmen.) When asked who they would support, Tiu said the mayors would likely go for Villar or Aquino because the two are leading in the surveys. "Maraming nako-convert ni Gibo after listening to him, whether debates, interviews. Gibo sila. Nag-iincrease. [But] I don't know kung aabot ito, makakahabol dun sa mga leading candidates, which I doubt," Tiu said. (Gibo is able to convert many people to his side after listening to him whether in debates, interviews. They turn pro-Gibo, and their numbers increase. But I don’t know if this is enough to catch up with the leading candidates.) One key political figure in Leyte, former governor Remedios "Matin" Petilla, has already jumped to the LP. Petilla, mother of incumbent governor Carlos Jericho Petilla, was governor of Leyte from 1995 to 2004. She then moved on to represent the province's first district in the Lower House, but in 2007 gave way to Martin Romualdez after an agreement brokered reportedly by no less than President Arroyo herself. Matin Petilla dropped out from Lakas-Kampi-CMD so she could run for mayor in Palo town, where the incumbent mayor is backed by Lakas-Kampi-CMD, according to Bagulaya. Petilla was at Noynoy’s press conferences on Tuesday. The incumbent governor, Jericho Petilla, is running for reelection unopposed under the administration party Lakas-Kampi-CMD banner. No campaign rally Despite expressing confidence that they have enough support in Leyte, the LP standard bearer and his running mate Senator Manuel “Mar" Roxas II decided not to hold a campaign rally in the province like they usually do in other provincial sorties. But Noynoy explained that this was only due to time constraints, because he is scheduled to go to 27 provinces in three weeks. "Pag nagra-rally tayo, sa totoo lang, medyo ang haba ng oras na kakailanganin po nun, hindi makakaya ang 27 provinces maski tigi-tig-isang rally lang po yun at hindi natin maabot yung mga botante na gusto nating maabot," he said. (When we hold a rally, truth to tell, that needs a bit of time, and we can’t cover 27 provinces even for just one rally per province, and we can’t reach all the voters that we want to reach.)—JV, GMANews.TV