Roco winds up campaign, tries to woo undecided voters

NAGA CITY — The Alyansa ng Pag-asa party aired yesterday an hour-long television show featuring its standard-bearer Raul Roco in an apparent last-ditch attempt to win over "undecided" voters.

"You can choose the one who serves well instead of someone who is involved in corruption and a liar who does not have any experience," Roco said, apparently referring to his rivals President Arroyo and actor Fernando Poe Jr.

The television show was called "Miting de Kumbinse," derived from the term "miting de abanse," a political rally held to mark the end of the campaign period. The show was conceptualized by Campaigns Advocacy PR Inc. and directed by Jun Carangan. It was aired over GMA-7, ABS-CBN, ANC cable television, Studio 23 and all major radio stations yesterday, the last day of the campaign period.

During the show, Roco said voters should judge candidates according to their track records and platform of government to ensure the country’s recovery from socio-economic turmoil.

"Why settle for one who does not serve us well or one who lacks the experience? We now have the chance to choose one who has been serving truthfully," he said.

Roco maintained that there is still hope for the Philippines if Filipinos learn to vote according to their conscience.

Recent surveys showed that around 12 percent or five million of the 42 million registered voters are still undecided on which candidate they will vote for in tomorrow’s presidential election.

The show featured video footages taken of slum areas, the Davao bombing, slain kidnap victims, and the mutiny staged in July last year by junior military officers.

It also aired the testimonies of Alyansa volunteers who believe Roco is the best choice among the presidential candidates. Among these volunteers are singers Celeste Legaspi, Pinky Marquez, Jose Manuel Villaflor, Cooky Chua, Robert Seña, Noel Cabangon, the band South Border, actors Bembol Roco and Noel Trinidad and movie director Gil Portes.

During the show, Roco reiterated that he is fit and healthy to serve as president despite the spread of cancer cells to his pelvic or vertebral bone. The cells originated from his malignant prostate gland that was successfully removed in an operation in 1996.

But the bone metastasis was detected and treated early when Roco went to the United States from April 13 to 27 for treatment.

His American physician Dr. Larry Hauskins, of the Christus St. Patrick Hospital in Lake Charles, Lousiana, attested that "appropriate measures have been taken to assure Mr. Roco a speedy resolution of his symptoms so he can proceed unencumbered in the discharge of his duties as a public servant."

Roco likened himself to former South African president Nelson Mandela, former New York Mayor Rudolph Guiliani and American presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry, who all suffered prostate cancer but became model leaders.

On the local front, Roco said he wanted to become like the late President Manuel Quezon, who died of tuberculosis but is still looked up to as one of the best presidents that the Philippines ever had.

Roco also vowed to fight corruption and make education and health care services available for every Filipino.

According to Roco’s publicist Yolly Ong, the show is meant to convince the "uncommitted" to pick him as the best presidential candidate.

"I think this is the first time that there has been a show like this, in lieu of a miting de avance... I myself support Raul Roco because we have the same views on a lot of issues. The worst thing that you can have is a product that you don’t believe in," Ong said.

This developed as Roco’s miting de avance here Friday night was allegedly sabotaged by pro-administration Camarines Sur Gov. Luis Villafuerte Jr., who is running against Roco’s brother, re-electionist Camarines Sur Rep. Sulpicio Roco Jr.

Villafuerte allegedly allowed a local radio station to hold the grand finals of a singing contest in a stage right across the site of Roco’s culmination rally attended by thousands of his townmates.

During Roco’s speech, the opposite stage began doing loud "sound checks" which caused buzzing sounds in the Alyansa’s speakers.

A female announcer said the singing contest will begin as soon as Roco ends his speech but observers noted the contest actually started while Roco was still speaking to his supporters.

According to Roco’s brother Facundo, it was a "normal tactic" for Villafuerte to "spoil" their activities.

"When Raul ran for congressman in 1987, (Villafuerte) also booked the plaza so we had no venue for his rally. What we did was to hold the rally in a university compound. You can’t expect better than that. That’s Bicol politics," Facundo added.