Nacionalista declares free zone, won’t endorse bets in presidential, VP polls
TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte — With just 41 days before the May 9 polls, the Nacionalista Party (NP) has decided not to endorse any presidential and vice presidential candidates, said Sen. Cynthia Villar.
“Wala, free zone tayo,” Villar said if the party headed by her husband, former senator Manny Villar, would endorse candidates for president and vice president.
She said they decided not to endorse any bets especially in the vice presidential race, because the candidates were all their friends.
Three candidates for vice president are members of NP. They are Senators Alan Peter Cayetano, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and Antonio Trillanes.
“Magagalit naman sa amin yung dalawa kung magsu-support kami sa isa. Kaya hahayaan namin silang mangampanya kung sino ang magiging mapalad (Two would get mad at us if we would support just one. We would just let them campaign and see who would get lucky),” Villar said.
“Destiny naman yan (It’s destiny, anyway),” said Villar, whose husband ran but lost to President Benigno Aquino III during the 2010 presidential election.
Villar was commencement speaker during the 37th graduation rites of the Eastern Visayas State University (EVSU)-Carigara Campus in Carigara town, Leyte.
Asked if the ranking of Marcos in the survey would persuade NP to support the only son of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos, she said the free zone policy would not change.
Surveys conducted by Social Weather Station and Pulse Asia showed that Marcos and Sen. Francis Escudero were statistically tied in the first place for the vice presidential race. SFM
