Kris Aquino upstages Taguig bets

Candidates, be warned: Prepare to be upstaged if your endorser is no less than Kris Aquino.

The President’s celebrity sister received an enthusiastic welcome on Wednesday when she joined Taguig Mayor Lani Cayetano, who is running for reelection, in a motorcade around the city.

Even Cayetano’s husband, reelectionist Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano and his brother, director Lino Cayetano who is eyeing a congressional seat in the second district, found themselves taking a backseat to the actress.

Lani Cayetano, however, said that Aquino’s endorsement was a big boost to her team’s campaign.

“I was surprised after I got a call from Kris saying she wanted to campaign [for me]. We said that there was no need but she really insisted, saying she wanted to help us,” she added.

Upon Aquino’s arrival at the Cayetano sports complex in Barangay Bagumbayan, people swarmed around the actress, waiting for a chance to have their photos taken with her.

When it was her turn to speak, some people who had remained in their seats during the speeches of the Cayetanos stood up and tried to move closer to the stage.

“Lani is so nice and down to earth… I would never forget the time she sent me flowers during a trying moment,” Aquino told the crowd.

She added that “if ever I would become a public servant, Ate Lani will be my role model.”

But not everyone was convinced that Lani Cayetano needed Aquino’s endorsement to ensure her victory on May 13.

“Her programs are enough [to make her win],” a woman told the Inquirer.

Asked why she was endorsing a candidate outside of the Liberal Party (LP), her brother’s political party, Aquino said: “They are my friends. We have a democracy so I can choose anyone I want to endorse.”

The LP, however, has an alliance with the Nacionalista Party under which Lani Cayetano and her team are running.

According to Aquino, she no longer had to consult her brother on whether or not she should endorse a non-LP candidate.

She proved this when she campaigned for Marjorie de Veyra who is running for Makati vice mayor alongside incumbent Mayor Jejomar Erwin Binay on Saturday.

The LP’s vice mayoral candidate is incumbent Vice Mayor Kid Peña.