ABAD: ROXAS NEVER HAD DEALINGS WITH AMPATUANS

 

Liberal Party General Campaign Manager Secretary Florencio Abad today debunked lies that LP vice presidential candidate Senator Mar Roxas sought the support of the notorious Ampatuan clan of Maguindanao for the May 10 elections.

“This is pure foolishness and sheer falsehood. Senator Roxas is not desperate to seek the support of the Ampatuan cheating machinery in Maguindanao,” Abad said in reaction to a newspaper report quoting a military source that several Maguindanao town mayors visited Andal Ampatuan Sr. to discuss the candidates they will support, which purportedly includes Roxas for vice president.

“Si Mar ay hindi makikiapid sa mga may pakana ng Maguindanao Massacre. Maalala ng lahat na siya at si Senador Noynoy Aquino ang namuno sa Partido Liberal sa pag-kondena sa masaker at sa panawagan nito para sa hustisya sa 57 na biktima (Mar will never be in cahoots with the perpetuators of the Maguindanao Massacre, especially since he and Senator Noynoy Aquino led the Liberal Party in condemning the gruesome massacre and their call for justice for the 57 victims),” he stressed.

Abad said the mention of Roxas’ name among those allegedly supported by the Ampatuans and their minions in Maguindanao could only be part of a mind-conditioning scheme mapped out and perpetrated by other vice presidential candidates who have been lagging in pre-election voters preference surveys conducted by independent polling firms.

The scheme, he revealed, would involve disseminating the false story of Roxas supposedly conniving with the Ampatuans to cheat the results of the May 10 vice presidential race in his favor, thereby conditioning the public’s mind that a Roxas victory in the polls could be the result of massive election fraud carried out in Maguindanao.

“Iyan ang tanging dahilan kung bakit ikinakalat ngayon ang walang katotohanang pakikipag-kuntsabahan diumano ni Roxas sa mga Ampatuan. Matalino ang mga botante. Alam nila kung totoo o hindi ang mga tsismis na kumakalat laban sa isang kandidato. At alam nating lahat na wala sa personalidad ni Roxas ang pandaraya (This is the only reason why this lie about Mar conniving with the Ampatuans is being peddled around. Voters are intelligent now. They know if reports are true or if they are lies. It is not in Roxas’ personality to cheat),” he said.

Abad insisted the LP vice presidential bet could and would never be part of any election fraud schemes as he has openly and consistently criticized President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and her administration for the massive cheating perpetrated during the 2004 presidential elections, expertly carried out by the Ampatuans and former Comelec Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano.

During the 2004 senatorial elections, Roxas got only 150,000 votes in Maguindanao while Rep. Didagen Dilangen topped the congressional elections with 260,000 votes. Nacionalista vice presidential bet Loren Legarda, who also ran but lost as vice president in 2004, got 144,000 votes. The province had 350,000 registered voters.