LOREN YARN ON WITHDRAWAL OFFER A DEFENSE OF VILLARROYO -- LP

Senator Loren Legarda’s yarn that she was asked by a rival in the vice-presidential race to withdraw her candidacy is her party’s desperate response to the negative impact of reports that her presidential bet, Senator Manuel Villar, attempted to bribe two rivals for the presidency in exchange for their support for his candidacy. 

This was the immediate reaction from the camp of Liberal Party vice-presidential bet Senator Mar Roxas, who has consistently swamped Legarda and other candidates for vice-president in pre-election surveys on voters’ choice for the May 10 election since September last year. 

LP Director General Chito Gascon said the Villarroyo camp is desperate to counter voters’ negative reaction to revelations by Senator Richard Gordon and former President Joseph Estrada that Villar asked them to withdraw their candidacy in his favour in exchange for huge amounts of money to reimburse their expenses and choice positions in government if Villar could win the presidency. 

Villar’s alleged attempts to bribe Gordon and Estrada confirm widespread voter perception of a character flaw of Villar as a leader concerning issues of good governance, particularly after the Senate found him liable for using his power and influence as Senate President to make the government divert the C5 Road Extension Project to pass through his properties, Gascon said. 

The Senate Committee of the Whole chaired by Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile asked Villar to return to the government the more than P6 billion that his companies made from the project for his alleged violations of ethics laws for government officials. 

“It is obvious that the Villarroyo camp is hurting from the revelations of Senator Gordon and President Erap that he attempted to bribe them,” Gascon said.  

“With the May elections clearly a contest between forces that want clean government and forces that will continue the corrupt ways of the Arroyo Administration, Villarroyo is definitely worried he wasted his billions for campaign spending for nothing,” he added. 

Gascon said Legarda is also getting desperate over Roxas’ commanding lead in the vice-presidential race and has resorted to throwing mud at the Visayan senator to gain in surveys. 

In the Social Weather Stations survey last February, Roxas posted a lead of 17 points or about nine million votes over consistent second-placer Legarda.

03-10-2010