MANILA, Philippines?The camp of Senator Benigno ?Noynoy? Aquino III said Wednesday that the Ampatuan clan's ?endorsement? of Aquino could be the handiwork of only two possible ?culprits??Senator Manuel Villar's Nacionalista Party or the Arroyo government.

?Is this a joke? It's not logical. It boggles the mind,? said Leah Navarro, content head of Aquino's New Media Bureau and executive director of Black & White Movement.

?We were shocked to find he was able to engineer a press conference within prison and he was all decked out in yellow (Aquino's signature color). We're wondering how (he got) permission to do that?? she said at the Fernandina Media Forum at Club Filipino in Greenhills, San Juan City.

?We feel there can only be two culprits, or one of both: the NP or it could also be the government. Who else would allow the (Bureau of Jail Management and Penology) to hold a press con there?? she said.

?Is Andal that powerful? I don't think you can do that unless you have some backing from government,? she said.

Navarro noted that the public and the media knew very well that Myrna Reblando, widow of Manila Bulletin's Alejandro Reblando, one of the Maguindanao massacre victims, was openly supporting Aquino.

?She has in fact appeared in an ad where she endorses him. So why would the Liberal Party go to the Ampatuans?? she said.

Navarro repeated Aquino's initial response to the controversy: ?No, thank you. There's no value added to getting the support of someone (accused of) back-hoeing 57 innocent individuals.?

She also said they came across information that Anwar Ampatuan was the supposed chair of NP in Maguindanao, and asked the media to dig deeper into the alleged connection. ?That would help us a lot. It would explain things,? she said.

?Just last Thursday, we saw on the news, and on Youtube, Andal Ampatuan wearing two baller IDs: one for Villar and one for (Gilbert Remulla). He said these are the candidates I'm supporting, and he fingered the baller IDs, and raised them,? she said.

Navarro said the Ampatuan clan's endorsement of Aquino could be another indication of the supposed ?collusion? between Villar and the Arroyo administration.

?Who has the most to gain? I would think it's his nearest rival. If we have an Aquino presidency and (Arroyo) wins a seat in Congress ... I wonder how much of her pork barrel she's going to get,? she said.

?I'm being facetious ha,? she quickly added, although she also noted that Aquino had not been getting any pork barrel, or the Countrywide Development Fund, since 2005.