LP slams Binay camp for ‘deceptive’ TV ads

Liberal Party officials led by party standard bearer Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III on Friday slammed the camp of Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay for supposedly being behind television advertisements the LP branded as "deceptive." At a press conference in Cubao, Aquino said Binay has to explain whether the Makati mayor's camp is indeed behind the Noy-Bi TV ad by Bandila party-list which endorsed Aquino for president and Binay for vice president. Binay is the vice presidential running mate of former President Joseph Estrada. "I think Jojo Binay needs to clarify his position. Is he aligned with this Bandila group?" Aquino said, adding that he himself is not allied with the party-list group. At the same time, Aquino maintained his support for his running mate, Senator Manuel "Mar" Roxas II, who is tied with Binay in the latest Social Weather Stations survey. And while he sought an explanation from Binay over the Noy-Bi TV ad, Aquino did not do the same to Senator Francis Escudero, an endorser of the the Aquino-Binay tandem. "Pagkakilala ko naman kay Chiz (Escudero's nickname) alam niya ang mga limitasyon ko, alam niya ang hindi niya pwede ilapit. Kung meron siya pinapasukan diyan palagay ko mahirap magkautang na loob sa isang taong hindi mo mababayaran (From how I know Chiz, he knows my limitations, he knows who he cannot approach. If he's entering something, I think he knows that it's hard to owe someone something you won't be able to pay back)," Aquino said. Escudero maintained that he sees no problem in pushing for an Aquino-Binay tandem. "What is the problem? Quiboloy is Gibo-Mar; Magdalo is Villar-Mar; Willie Revillame is Villar-Roxas; there are many Lakas leaders that are Gibo-Mar. Has Noynoy ever complained about this to Mar? No, he did not and has not," Escudero said in a text message to reporters. "He is not insecure and he is far too decent to complain and quibble about it," said Escudero, adding that he and Aquino had a "good and long talk" before he started helping the LP standard bearer and that he knows their limitations. 'Palakpak' ad Aside from criticizing Binay for the "Noy-Bi" campaign, Roxas likewise slammed the Makati mayor for another television ad showing a picture of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signing a document with Roxas clapping behind her. The ad said Roxas was Mrs. Arroyo's "kakampi sa EVAT," or her ally in the imposition of the expanded value-added tax which is blamed by some quarters as the reason for higher commodity prices. While he did not principally author the measure, Roxas voted for its passage. Showing newspaper clippings, Roxas and Abad said Binay's ad was deceptive because the picture was actually taken during the signing of the Cheaper Medicines Act, which Roxas principally authored. "Kung dito pa lang sa kampanya kasinungalingan na ang umiiral, papano pa kaya kapag maloko nila ang mga botante at mahalal sa pwesto (If lies dominate his campaign, what more if he succeeds in deceiving the public and gets elected)?" Roxas said. Abad said: "Hindi namin inaakala na ganito na lamang kadesperado ang aming pong katunggali na gustong manalo sa darating na halalan at sila ay gagamit ng mga napakaduming taktika upang hindi ipaglaban ang sarili kundi siraan ang kanilang katunggali (We never thought our opponent would get this desperate to win in the upcoming elections that they'd use extremely dirty tactics not to defend themselves but to destroy the reputation of their rival)." The LP has formally asked TV networks GMA and ABS-CBN to stop showing the Binay ads. Not deceptive? In a statement, Binay maintained that his "Palakpak (clapping)" ad was not deceptive. "Everything in that image is factual. Sinabi namin na pumalakpak siya. Sinabi namin kakampi siya ni Mrs. Arroyo sa EVAT. Totoo yon (We said he clapped. We said he was with Mrs. Arroyo in EVAT. That's true)," Binay said. "We never said the photo was taken during the signing of the EVAT law," he added. Binay said the ad was their reply to an ad released by Makati City Rep. Teddyboy Locsin Jr. While the ad endorsed Roxas, it showed newspaper clippings of Binay's alleged corruption in Makati. That corruption cases had been dismissed by the Sandiganbayan, the statement said. — RSJ, GMANews.TV