Team PNoy 12-0 sweep ‘mere propaganda’, says Aquino ally

Sergio Osmeña III. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — An ally of President Benigno Aquino III said Team PNoy’s target of a 12-0 sweep of the May 13 elections was “mere propaganda” that was “not realistic” given the realities of Philippine election history.

Senator Sergio Osmena III, believed to be one of the real strategists behind the administration’s mid-term campaign, said the closest a senatorial race ever came to a sweep was when opposition and independent candidates dominated the 2007 election.

The senator recalled that only re-electionist Senators Joker Arroyo and Edgardo Angara made it among the 12 candidates endorsed by then President Gloria Arroyo.

The rest of the winners were either from the Genuine Opposition or those who ran as independents like Francis Pangilinan and Gregorio Honasan.

Asked at the Kapihan sa Senado whether Team PNoy’s 12-0 target was “achievable,” Osmena said that while “nothing is impossible,” the goal may not be realistic since “there are also very strong candidates” from the United Nationalist Alliance.

Team PNoy campaign manager Senator Franklin Drilon had stressed several times in provincial sorties of the need for a 12-0 sweep if voters wanted the Senate to sustain the administration’s good governance agenda.

Liberal Party insiders are also believed to be interested in a 12-0 score if only to ensure that administration candidates would flood the Senate roster and vote for Drilon as Senate President when the 16th Congress opens in July.