Old names, new promises

MANILA, Philippines–They may sport the same, old names that frequently crop up in Philippine politics, but senatorial candidates of the administration on Monday said that they would still bring changes to the country should they be elected into office.

Liberal Party candidate Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV, who happens to be President Benigno Aquino III’s cousin, said the people on the administration senatorial slate were those who would continue the chief executive’s push for reforms.

“When you look at what we have, these are the people who are subscribing to what the President wants,” the younger Aquino told reporters.

“At the end of the day, our advantage is that if people feel the President is doing a good job, that is the slate that will push and continue the reforms he’s trying to do,” he added.

Bam Aquino tried to dispute claims that his family, which figures prominently in politics, was not a dynasty, saying its members just wanted to help the Filipino.

“If you look at the Aquinos, it’s not a dynasty. It’s just a history of public service,” he said.

He added that he himself wanted to help the people by running to represent the younger generation in the Senate. He said it was “great” that his surname was giving him an advantage, but foremost on his mind was his desire to serve.

Reelectionist Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV said the administration slate, which also includes members from five other parties, was “more or less representative of the reform agenda of the President.”

The President’s senatorial slate and that of its rival, the United Nationalist Alliance, have been criticized for having the same old politicians or their kin.

This was despite much rhetoric about bringing about change in Philippine politics and doing away with political accommodation and expediency.

Former Las Piñas Rep. Cynthia Villar said that should she be elected to the Senate in 2013, she and her husband, outgoing Sen. Manuel Villar, would not be in the same legislature together.

As for her son, Las Piñas Rep. Mark Villar who is expected to seek reelection, she said the post had always gone to members of her family.

The mish-mash of candidates from different parties on the administration slate makes for strange bedfellows. They nevertheless said they were putting any unpleasantness behind them for the elections.

Jamby Madrigal had attacked Villar’s husband, Sen. Manuel Villar, for the allegedly anomalous realignment of the C-5 road extension project in Parañaque and Las Piñas so this would pass through his real estate projects.

But Madrigal and Cynthia Villar said they were not dwelling on the incident anymore.

Villar said she was not focused on the issue and that there was no use crying over spilled milk. “We have moved on.”

Madrigal said it was not Cynthia whom she had criticized, and what had happened before with the latter’s husband was “history.” Her attack was not personal, she added.

Madrigal and Manny Villar were losing candidates in the May 2010 presidential derby won by Aquino. With a report from Jerry E. Esplanada