Roxas turns to another Arroyo ally – Pichay of Surigao Sur – for poll support

TANDAG CITY, Surigao del Sur — Liberal Party (LP) standard-bearer Mar Roxas has won the backing of a controversial political ally of former president and re-electionist Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Prospero Pichay, who is trying to regain his previous seat as Surigao del Sur representative, threw his support behind Roxas and his running-mate, Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo, on Monday.

President Aquino’s chosen candidates in the May 9 general elections also got the support of the influential Pichay and Pimentel clans, whose members had been occupying the key local positions in the province for decades.

In front of some 5,000 residents who filled the Tandag Gymnasium here, Pichay vouched for Roxas’ competence as a leader and experience as a government official.

“A true leader does not always yield to what the people want, but is willing to tell the people that he’s doing the right thing,” Pichay said in Filipino.

“There had been issues and policies which were unpopular, but Mar Roxas stood for them because it was the right thing to do,” he added.

Pichay, a member of Arroyo’s Lakas Party, also asked his supporters to vote for Robredo as vice president. “Like Roxas, Congresswoman Robredo was never linked to corruption.”

Interestingly, the Office of the Ombudsman had ordered the sacking of Pichay as chair of the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) in 2011 over the allegedly fraudulent investment of P780 million in a rural bank.

The Ombudsman also meted out a lifetime ban on Pichay — one of Arroyo’s staunchest allies during her nine-year term — from joining the government against Pichay.

In his speech, Roxas thanked Pichay for his support and referred to him as a “friend.”

“Whatever our political parties are, the important thing is that we’re here for the interest of our country,” Roxas said.

Earlier, Pampanga Governor Lilia Pineda, a known long-time ally and friend of Arroyo, also expressed support for Roxas and Robredo.  The alliance stunned some as Roxas’ Liberal Party had worked hard to unseat Pineda from the governor’s office in previous elections.  The Liberal Party previously accused Bong Pineda, husband of the governor, of being  a jueteng lord.  SFM