| Aquino formally enters presidential race |
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Jay R. Gotera
November 30, 2009
MANILA – Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III Saturday formally joined the race for the Philippine presidency in the May 2010 elections as he filed his certificate of candidacy together with his vice presidential bet, Sen. Manuel “Mar” Roxas II.
Accompanied by a huge crowd of supporters, Aquino made use of the occasion to assail President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo whom he accused of focusing too much on gaining votes for her chosen presidential candidate in Mindanao while neglecting to deliver basic services to the people in the region. “The problem in Mindanao is that the government does not deliver services there. They are more concerned about getting votes for the administration bet. We need to change that,” Aquino said. The Liberal Party standard bearer, who has topped presidential poll surveys by wide margins, said more attention should be given to Mindanao, a region beset by poverty and banditry.
Asked how he would address the problem of warlords in the region, which was recently highlighted with the massacre of 57 civilians, including women and journalists, in Maguindanao province, Aquino said he would use the police and the military to disband the private armies of such warlords. Asked what would be his priority projects if he wins the presidency, Aquino said his administration would focus on four targets: Job generation, improvement on health, education, and judicial reforms. Aquino conceded that his opponents have more money and resources at their disposal to advance their campaign. But he said he and his team will not be left behind and will match their rivals’ money with their sheer effort. “We can’t match the billions upon billions of pesos they have for their campaign, but we will simply try to outwork them,” Aquino told reporters in Pilipino at the office of the Commission on Elections in Manila. He said they won’t need to spend as much money since most of the people who will be helping them are volunteers. Nevertheless, Aquino said he is confident they have enough funds to run a decent campaign. Roxas, for his part, said he is convinced that the track record of Aquino and not money is what is more important. “All the candidates and rivals of Sen. Noynoy are saying they are reformist, that they are clean. I can only say one thing. Sen. Noynoy has no government contract. Noynoy has not taken advantage of his post in government. Noynoy has no taint of corruption,” Roxas said. Meanwhile, police have ended a grisly search for corpses and mass graves from the election-linked massacre in the southern Philippines, with the known death toll standing at 57, officials said Saturday. The authorities dismissed several news reports that quoted a police official saying he had counted 64 bodies from the slaughter just off a farming road in the province of Maguindanao on Mindanao island.
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