UNA denies offer of support for other senatorial candidates

MANILA, Philippines — The United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) on Friday denied that it was offering to support other candidates in place of the “guest” senatorial candidates that the party dropped on Thursday.

In a statement, UNA secretary general and Navotas Representative Toby Tiangco said their coalition “has not officially made and will not make an offer” for Bro. Eddie Villanueva, Mayor Edward Hagedorn and Bayan Muna Representative Teddy Casino.

UNA dropped Senators Loren Legarda and Francis Escudero, and former MTRCB chief Grace Poe-Llamanzares after they failed to show up at any of the coalition’s sorties.

The three are also candidates of the Liberal Party coalition.

UNA senatorial candidate San Juan Representative Joseph Victor Ejercito was quoted in an ABS-CBN report as saying that there were discussions on the possible inclusion of Villanueva, Hagedorn and Casino in their slate.

But Tiangco denied this, insisting that UNA had “no plans of replacing the three former guest candidates.”

“We freed ourselves from our obligation to campaign for the three former guest candidates not so we can replace them, but so we can move on. We will focus on our nine UNA candidates,” he added.