Noynoy's nephew meets UV students

CEBU, Philippines - Being the nephew of presidential candidate Noynoy Aquino has its perks—when it comes to girls. 

Describing his “Tito Noy” as a very hands-on uncle, Justin Benigno “Jiggy” Aquino Cruz, the eldest among the grandchildren of the late Ninoy and Cory Aquino, said that the LP standard-bearer would give them money or sponsor the dinners with their dates.

And the biggest “man-to-man” advice he got from the country’s arguably most eligible bachelor?

“Lagi niyang sinasabi na huwag niyong lokohin ang mga girlfriend niyo,” Cruz told college students during an open forum held at the University of the Visayas yesterday.

The 24-year-old admitted that his uncle’s campaign is a family affair, and that all of them have assumed roles.

For his part, he usually fills in whenever none of the more senior members of the family could make it to an event.

But the head of the Youth for Noy is largely involved in his “Tito Noy’s” cyberspace campaign, actively maintaining blog, Facebook and Twitter accounts. 

Told that in previous national elections there was no youth vote, he exhorted the students to take their responsibility and power to elect leaders seriously come May.

Cruz was accompanied to the forum by his father, Eldon, who grew up in Bogo, and other Cebu-based supporters.

The Aquinos will be back in Cebu for a bigger campaign sortie this April with more of Noynoy’s family members in attendance — sister Kris Aquino and her husband James Yap, girlfriend Shalani Soledad and a number of celebrity endorsers.

Meanwhile, student leader and Visayanian editor-in-chief, Jasper Blanco, said that while he has not yet decided on which candidate to vote for, he said that having someone their age talk about the merits of a certain candidate has given them a fresher perspective and has helped them relate better with the candidate.

“Instead of just relying on what we hear, see, or read from the media, there really is a need for more forums like this so as to get to know our candidates more. Forums provide a direct interaction with the candidates.

“If our candidates don’t make the effort to attend forums, how can we expect them to be there for us after the elections,” he asked.

The youth vote is expected to be a force to reckon come elections as there are reportedly more than 4 million new voters, with nearly a majority of them students. — Nathalie Tomada/NLQ(FREEMAN NEWS)