Yesterday, the country was rocked by the news of the defection of the Presidential Economic Adviser and Albay Governor Joey Salceda. Salceda bolted out of the ruling coalition, withdrawn its support for Gilberto Teodoro and decided to join the Liberal Party. This action, however is a backfire to the Aquino camp over accusations made against its closest rival, Manny Villar.
Last week, we've seen LP Senatorial aspirants shouting during rallies direct accusation against Villar as the secret candidate of Mrs. Arroyo. This was premised on the exodus of the close administration allies from the Lakas-Kampi-CMD Coalition joining the Nacionalista ranks. The Liberal Party that time, specifically pin-pointed the defection of Former Ilocos Sur Governor Luis "Chavit" Singson, Davao del Sur Governor Douglas Cagas, Bukidnon Governor Juan Maria Zubiri, and many more as a strong evidence of the Villaroyo accounts.
However, this accusation backfired to the Liberal Party just this week when some pillars of the ruling coalition bolted out of the party and openly declared its support to the Aquino candidacy. The very premise where the Liberals anchored their accusation was actually destroyed by their actions of receiving the new turncoats with open arms. Salceda was just the most recent. Two days ago, we've seen Deputy Majority Floor Leader Neptali Gonzales being sworn as a Liberal. Aquino even confirmed that more will defect in the succeeding days.
This however, strengthened the speculation that its not Villar but Aquino who is Arroyo's secret candidate. Its also noteworthy that Aquino's trusted advisers today are former cabinet members of the Arroyo administration while its Senatorial race aspirants are former allies, if not with affiliations to Arroyo. It can be predicted that, if ever elected, Aquino will just play the game with the same chess pieces Arroyo played.
Last week, we've seen LP Senatorial aspirants shouting during rallies direct accusation against Villar as the secret candidate of Mrs. Arroyo. This was premised on the exodus of the close administration allies from the Lakas-Kampi-CMD Coalition joining the Nacionalista ranks. The Liberal Party that time, specifically pin-pointed the defection of Former Ilocos Sur Governor Luis "Chavit" Singson, Davao del Sur Governor Douglas Cagas, Bukidnon Governor Juan Maria Zubiri, and many more as a strong evidence of the Villaroyo accounts.
However, this accusation backfired to the Liberal Party just this week when some pillars of the ruling coalition bolted out of the party and openly declared its support to the Aquino candidacy. The very premise where the Liberals anchored their accusation was actually destroyed by their actions of receiving the new turncoats with open arms. Salceda was just the most recent. Two days ago, we've seen Deputy Majority Floor Leader Neptali Gonzales being sworn as a Liberal. Aquino even confirmed that more will defect in the succeeding days.
This however, strengthened the speculation that its not Villar but Aquino who is Arroyo's secret candidate. Its also noteworthy that Aquino's trusted advisers today are former cabinet members of the Arroyo administration while its Senatorial race aspirants are former allies, if not with affiliations to Arroyo. It can be predicted that, if ever elected, Aquino will just play the game with the same chess pieces Arroyo played.
No comments:
Post a Comment