UNA readies for Baguio showdown, confident supporters will come

Rep. Toby Tiangco FILE PHOTO

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines — There is no “falling out” and the venue where the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) will hold its rally this Sunday can accommodate more than 2000 supporters, the party’s campaign manager said.

Navotas Representative Toby Tiangco was reacting to a statement by Ben Evardone of Team PNoy who said that UNA feared a “falling out” of its supporters and that there may not be enough supporters to fill up the Baguio Convention Center.

“If [Team PNoy spokesman Eastern Samar Representative Ben Evardone] can promise that it will not rain in the afternoon, we will use Malcolm Square,” he said in Filipino.

“2,000? I don’t know if he has an eye problem or he is just bad in math but if I can prove that it can accommodate more than 2000, then for the nth time I can prove again that he is lying which is very true to his character anyway,” he said.

Tiangco said their organizers pegged the capacity of the Baguio Convention Center at 6000.

“There will also be two big screens outside, so that if it doesn’t rain, we can expect a bigger crowd. They can watch from outside,” he added.

Former senator Ernesto Maceda said that Team PNoy also had changes in its campaign rally in Baguio, adding that he was curious as to why the LP-led coalition moved their sortie to 2:30 p.m. instead of 5 p.m.

UNA’s sortie is scheduled at 5 p.m. at the Baguio Convention Center, which Maceda said was a “more comfortable” venue where the crowd can sit down to listen to the candidates.

If UNA moved its sortie venue to an enclosed venue just in case it rains, Maceda believed that Team PNoy was “trying to take advantage of the Sunday crowd” at Melvin Jones Open Field.

Former President Joseph Estrada will be endorsing the nine UNA senatorial candidates on his own while Aquino will endorse candidates of the Liberal Party-led coalition.

Vice President Jejomar Binay will skip the opposition’s Baguio City sortie to travel to Vatican City and attend the inaugural mass of Pope Francis.

Originally posted at 08:24 am | Sunday, Mar. 17, 2013