Pimentel to Zubiri: ‘Stop playing cute, explain free-for-all health-care ads’

Juan Miguel Zubiri and Aquilino Pimentel III. INQUIRER FILE PHOTOS

TACURONG CITY, Sultan Kudarat—Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III on Tuesday asked his political nemesis, Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri, to explain his free-for-all health-care advertisement, insinuating it was “too good to be true.”

And if indeed not true, Pimentel said, Zubiri’s promise may be considered another form of cheating.

“Si Migz Zubiri instead of calling for my attention, should explain to the people not only of Mindanao, of Bukidnon and of the Philippines, (but) to  the entire country ‘yung plano nya sa advertisement na libre lahat (his plan in the advertisement to set up a free-for-all [health care]),” Pimentel  told reporters when sought for comment on Zubiri’s appeal to leave him alone.

“Kasi alam nyo kung nambobola lang yan, ang pambobola, panloloko sa kampanya, isang uri yan pandadaraya. Kaya huwag po tayong magpaloko sa over-promising politician (Because if it’s proven that he is just flattering us, if it’s mere flattery, it’s like fooling us in the campaign, it’s a kind of cheating. So I’m warning you all not to be fooled by an over-promising politician).”

“So ‘yan po ang kanyang sagutin…Instead na…magpa cute pa kami sa isa’t isa (So that’s the one he should answer instead of us getting cute with each other),” he added.

While he said Zubiri was “no longer in his radar,” Pimentel still demanded a detailed explanation of his campaign promise.

“Ang dapat nyang gawin, I- explain n’ya ano ang detalye ng kanyang health care na libre lahat daw. Yang mga libre lahat, is sometimes too good to be true. And kung nanloloko ka sa kampanya, isang uri yan ng pandaraya (What he could do is he should explain in detail that health care [program] that is allegedly free for all. That kind of promise is too good to be true. And if you’re telling a lie in the campaign, that’s another form of cheating),” Pimentel said.

The two have been at odds since Pimentel accused Zubiri of cheating in the 2007 elections.