In Cagayan de Oro, Aquino says other bets won’t help

A child plays with the tarpaulin of senatorial candidate Edgardo “Sonny” Angara Jr. during President Aquino’s sortie with his Team PNoy in Cagayan de Oro City. LYN RILLON

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY—Imagine a “bahay kubo” (nipa hut) being carried by villagers on their shoulders in a classic case of “bayanihan” (spirit of solidarity).

With this imagery, President Benigno Aquino III on Tuesday made a pitch for his senatorial candidates here.

Speaking before victims of Typhoon “Sendong” in Barangay (village) Lumbia, Aquino said electing his 12 senatorial candidates would ensure that the nipa hut—the country—is taken to its rightful place.

Voting for other candidates would set back his reform agenda, Aquino said.

“They won’t help carry the kubo,” said Aquino. “They might even ride in it,” he said.

Aquino said he handpicked the 12 candidates from a long list to push the administration agenda.

The President harped on the same message when he appeared in a rally with Senators Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III and Loren Legarda, former Senators Ramon Magsaysay Jr. and Maria Ana Consuelo “Jamby” Madrigal in a rally at the Don Gregorio Pelaez Sports Complex here.

In his speech, he talked about the administration’s programs to relocate to a safe place and provide livelihood to thousands of families displaced by Sendong in the city in December 2011, and prevent a similar disaster through a flood control project.

Sendong brought heavy rains and unprecedented flooding to Cagayan de Oro and Iligan cities on Dec. 17, 2011, leaving more than 1,000 dead and P1.3 billion in damage to infrastructure and crops.