MANILA, Philippines?Leading presidential candidate Sen. Benigno ?Noynoy? Aquino III Tuesday presided over the country?s oldest political party?s bid to return to power and relevance by leading its members in an oath ?to never, never steal.?

Aquino and hundreds of Liberal Party members signed a manifesto of hope anchored on an anticorruption campaign that drew the line with opposing parties, during the LP?s 64th anniversary celebration at Club Filipino in San Juan City.

A more confident and glib Aquino enjoyed lambasting not only President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo but his closest rival, Sen. Manuel Villar, standard-bearer of the Nacionalista Party.

?I had a friend who told me he won?t forgive Ms Arroyo for [his] losing 10 years of his life under her rule. At Edsa 2, she promised to lead a new politics by removing the culture of corruption, dependency and patronage. But what happened? She only made the situation worse. Before, they talked about the SOP of a project. Now, the project is the one getting the percentage of the SOP,? Aquino said.

He also took a dig at Villar who has been proclaiming that he has narrowed the ratings gap between them.

?But his campaign workers are the ones coming [up] to me because they want to have a picture with me. They tell me that what they are doing is just work and they will vote for whom they want. Those who have doubts should visit my website. I?m not bragging, that is just the plain truth,? Aquino said.