President Aquino: In a campaign sortie on Valentine’s Day. FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—He has given them his prized endorsement. Now, Team PNoy candidates wish President Aquino can find not only a date for Valentine’s Day but true love for the rest of his life.
“I hope he finds true, pure and endless love in a woman who’d also love him dearly,” said Sen. Francis Escudero, a close friend of the President and one of the reelectionists in the administration ticket.
Escudero, in late 2012, hit the headlines when the media found out about his romantic relationship with actress Heart Evangelista.
Sen. Ramon Magsaysay, who’s running to return to the Senate after two terms that ran from 1995 to 2007, wished President Aquino not only love but also twins.
“[I hope he] will finally have a lifetime partner soon,” said Magsaysay, easily the elder statesman among Team Pnoy’s candidates.
“P-Noy deserves to be happy and he must have a love partner soonest. At sana, makakambal kaagad [And hopefully, immediately have twins],” Magsaysay said.
President Aquino is expected to spend Valentine’s Day with his handpicked candidates in a campaign sortie in Laguna Thursday.
“I am not aware of any plans the President may have for Valentine’s Day nor would I presume to ask him,” Strategic Communication Secretary Ricky Carandang said in a text message.
In the morning, Aquino is scheduled to visit the International Rice Research Institute in Los Baños, Laguna, according to Lacierda.
Abigail Valte, deputy presidential spokesperson, earlier said that Valentine’s Day would be a “regular working day” for the President. “We have not been advised of any changes to the President’s schedule. That’s mostly working day,” she said on Sunday.
The Team PNoy news release on the candidates’ Valentine’s Day wish for the Chief Executive had it that “the Filipino people would not take it against the President if he is able to find a date just in time for [Valentine’s].”
“The senators said the rosy economy under P-Noy’s administration must also be reflected in the President’s ‘rosier love life as well,’” the statement read.
“Since he already has the love of the Filipino people, may he find more love in his personal life,” former Sen. Jamby Madrigal said in her own wish.
Bam Aquino, who tied the knot last year, has only one wish for his cousin: to find his mate soonest.
Aurora Rep. Juan Edgardo Angara said he wished the President to experience the love and care of a loving wife.
“I wish that he finds someone who will love him as much as he loves us. He deserves it,” he said.
As he had promised, the bachelor President will join Team PNoy in a rally in San Pablo City at around 2 p.m. Thursday, according to the coalition’s campaign schedule.
“He will meet with the local leaders and the community in the afternoon,” presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said in a text message.
First sortie
It will be the President’s first campaign sortie with his senatorial candidates after proclaiming them at the historic Plaza Miranda in Manila on Tuesday night.
Aquino marked his 53rd birthday Friday last week, with his celebrity sister Kris Aquino wishing that 2013 would bring him a “lasting love.” He had been linked to some women, the last reportedly being Korean TV personality Grace Lee.
In a statement released by Team PNoy on Wednesday, many of the candidates aired the wish that he would make time for romance, find a wife and raise a family.
In October last year, the President turned up at the concert of the classic rock group America at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, without a date, but with Cabinet officials and spouses in tow.
The President’s love life has been a favorite topic in the media since he assumed office in June 2010.
On Wednesday, Aquino received two Filipino beauties in Malacañang—2012 Miss Tourism International Rizzini Alexis Gomez and 2012 Miss Universe first runner-up Janine Tugonon.
Gomez, 22, was crowned Miss Tourism International in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on New Year’s Eve. Tugonon, 22, finished first runner-up at the Miss Universe pageant at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas on Dec. 19 last year.