Senator Franklin Drilon. FILE PHOTO
TACURONG CITY, Sultan Kudarat– Team PNoy expressed confidence Tuesday that President Benigno Aquino III’s handling of the Sabah conflict would not affect its candidates’ poll chances, saying his administration had no “full control” of the situation there.
“Wala pong epekto ang nangyayari sa Sabah (The events in Sabah have no effect on us). This is an isolated incident,” said Senator Franklin Drilon, campaign manager of Team PNoy, in a press conference here on Tuesday.
“It involves the claim of the Kiram family and I’m confident that the people will understand the limitations of the government in so far as being able to fully take control of the situation because…they are in Malaysia,” he said.
“They would understand the limitations on the ability of the government to handle directly the situation in a foreign land,” said Drilon, who joined some Team PNoy senatorial bets’ rally at the city’s cultural center.
Former South Cotabato Representative and now Mindanao Development Authority chairperson Luwalhati Antonino, who was also present at the rally, echoed Drilon’s optimism.
“I don’t think, here in Sultan Kudarat, even in General Santos, hindi issue yan (the Sabah conflict is not an issue) because we are in full support of what the President is doing,” she told reporters.
Antonino said the people here were aware of what the administration has done to the province despite his defeat here when he was running for president in 2010.
According to Antonino, it was only during the Aquino administration that the region was getting “more than what is entitled to us.”
“Yes, sa totoo lang natalo sya (Aquino) sa Mindanao but the budget would show na hindi nya binabawian ang mga taga Mindanao. Sa katunayan, tinitingnan nya ang kailangan ng Mindanao,” Antonino added.