Baguio execs move for smooth Team PNoy-UNA showdown

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines—The city government wants the showdown between the administration’s Team PNoy and the United Nationalist Alliance in the summer capital on Sunday to be a friendly duel.

Traffic policemen, city planners and businessmen worked for days to prepare a traffic management plan and emergency response protocols to accommodate the two campaign rallies and motorcades scheduled simultaneously Sunday afternoon, city officials said.

The administration coalition, Team PNoy, will mount its campaign rally at the Melvin Jones grandstand in Burnham Park at 2 p.m. after a downtown motorcade.

President Benigno Aquino III, who will lead Sunday morning’s graduation ceremonies at the Philippine Military Academy, will join the administration’s candidates at the park by 4 p.m., senatorial candidate Risa Hontiveros told reporters here on Saturday.

Vice President Jejomar Binay, who will also attend the PMA graduation, is expected to join UNA’s candidates at the Baguio Convention Center also at 4 p.m., after the opposition coalition holds its own motorcade.

Many of the Baguio officials seeking re-election are supporting UNA, including Mayor Mauricio Domogan and Rep. Bernardo Vergara.

Vergara said UNA obtained permits to stage its rally at the Malcolm Square, a small park at the foot of downtown Session Road, which is a block away from Burnham Park.

But he said UNA coordinators in Baguio, in deference to the President, decided to move the opposition rally to the convention center, which is less than a kilometer from Team PNoy’s campaign venue.

In Pampanga, where UNA staged a campaign rally in Candaba on Saturday, Binay said Team PNoy protested when it learned that UNA was holding a rally in Baguio on Sunday.

“But by God, we were the first to apply for a permit. We would not agree to cancel the rally,” Binay said.

Vergara said relocating the UNA rally would also prevent confusion because of the possibility that people who attend one rally could end up in a rival’s event because of the proximity of the campaign venues.

Hontiveros was in the city on Saturday ahead of other Team PNoy candidates, who campaigned in La Union following a Friday sortie in Pangasinan.

“It’s going to be a showdown but I don’t expect any problems or conflicts. And [the senatorial candidates] were not given special instructions” as to how they would deal with a simultaneous rally, she said.

“Let’s make it a showdown of platforms and track records, a showdown of agendas, not gimmicks or personal [issues] or team conflicts,” Hontiveros said.

Asked why Team PNoy and UNA ended up holding campaign rallies at the same time in Baguio City, Hontiveros said the administration coalition had set a Baguio trip on March 17 due to Mr. Aquino’s schedule.

“We decided to time the rally with the President’s visit here for the PMA graduation and meeting with community leaders in the city,” she said.

Aquino joined the administration candidates in campaign rallies in Dagupan City and Alaminos City on Friday.

(Reports from Vincent Cabreza and Frank Cimatu, Inquirer Northern Luzon, and Tonette Orejas, Inquirer Central Luzon)