Mikey Arroyo leads Pampanga local execs in rallying behind Gibo

Seeking to dispel rumors that his family is supporting another candidate, presidential son Rep. Juan Miguel “Mikey" Arroyo on Wednesday led local executives from Pampanga in rallying behind administration standard-bearer, Gilberto Teodoro Jr. Mikey, President Arroyo’s eldest son and Lakas-Kampi-CMD chairman for Central Luzon, said his family has never supported any other presidential bet except for Teodoro. “My whole family believes in him. It’s not true that my family has another candidate," he said, in response to rumors that his father, First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo, has called some local executives from Cebu to dump Teodoro in favor of Nacionalista Party (NP) presidential bet Manuel Villar, Jr. The presidential son added that his family’s home province, Pampanga, is “solid" behind Teodoro. “The force for Gibo here is strong and getting stronger by the day," he said. “Pampanga has been solid with us for decades and I don’t see how that would change." Mikey’s show of support for Teodoro came a day after President Arroyo, who is currently seeking a congressional post in Pampanga’s second district, ordered the ruling Lakas-Kampi party to intensify its campaign for the administration presidential bet. Teodoro, for his part, said in an interview during the Pampanga sortie that he has never felt abandoned by his party or President Arroyo. “There is no difference in their support," he said. The administration presidential bet visited San Fernando City and Arayat town in Pampanga on Wednesday for campaign rallies. He also held motorcades in the nearby province of Bataan earlier in the day. Also present in the sorties were Lakas-Kampi vice-presidential bet Edu Manzano and senatorial candidate Silvestre Bello III, Raul Lambino and Rey Langit. Pampanga local execs support Gibo Besides Mikey, several other local heads from Pampanga showed support for Teodoro during his visit to the province. Rep. Carmelo Lazatin of Pampanga’s first district and Rep. Aurelio Gonzales of the province’s third district, who both belong to the administration party, also showed up during the sortie in San Fernando City. Former Lubao mayor Lilia Pineda, Lakas-Kampi’s gubernatorial candidate in Pampanga, also expressed her support for Teodoro during the political rally. Candaba Mayor Jerry Pelayo, spokesman of the Pampanga Mayors’ League, meanwhile pledged the support of 19 of the 20 town mayors of the province for Teodoro. He said the mayors will deliver 85 to 88 percent of Pampanga’s more than a million registered voters for Teodoro. “We never stopped campaigning for him [Teodoro]…We are solidly behind him. This is an Arroyo territory," he said. Based on latest data from the Commission on Elections, Pampanga has a total of 1,084,617 registered voters for the upcoming May polls. It is the third most vote-rich province in Central Luzon, next to Bulacan and Nueva Ecija. In 2004, President Arroyo, then the administration party’s standard-bearer, won by about half a million votes in Pampanga over closest rival, the late actor Fernando Poe, Jr. - Andreo C. Calonzo, RJAB Jr., GMANews.TV