Kaya Natin! leader slams bid to link GCs to polls

Liberal Party ally and civil society leader Harvey Keh said the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) has become so desperate that it has rehashed old issues against Team PNoy candidates in an attempt to improve the chances of opposition candidates in May.

Keh, lead convenor of civil society group Kaya Natin! Movement, in a statement accused UNA and “some other personalities” of being behind “demolition jobs” against the President and his candidates in the Liberal Party-led coalition, Team PNoy.

“UNA has grown desperate and have resorted to fabricating issues and recycling old ones, accusing without concrete and irrefutable evidence,” Keh said.

Keh referred to UNA’s allegations of vote-buying through the distribution of gift certificates for school supplies and medicine against Kaya Natin! and reports of alleged junking of some candidates in the administration ticket.

In a report on April 8, the Inquirer quoted UNA as demanding an investigation of the distribution of gift certificates allegedly to boost the candidacies of several Team PNoy candidates.

The gift certificates were from a popular book and drug store and worth P500 and P1,000. Some were dated December last year but distributed at the height of the campaign period, according to UNA.

“This is a serious issue of vote-buying because it was timed during the local campaign, and it is clear money was involved,” said Rep. Toby Tiangco, UNA spokesperson, was quoted in the report as saying.

Keh also referred to accusations that are aimed at Team PNoy senatorial candidates Bam Aquino and Chiz Escudero.

“These are baseless accusations designed to divert the electorate’s attention from issues that should really matter in the elections … where our candidates stand, their track record and whether they are worthy of the people’s vote. I wouldn’t be surprised if these attacks are connected and politically motivated,” Keh said.

Keh, in particular, defended Bam Aquino, who was criticized for his past association with the Arroyo administration as a commissioner of the National Youth Commission of then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Keh said the negative publicity against the young Aquino is designed simply “to embarrass the President.”

“He is an Aquino after all … and he has performed very well in the surveys because of his track record, which we have seen firsthand,” Keh said.

Bam Aquino was one of the senatorial candidates Kaya Natin! endorsed.