PILI, Camarines Sur , Philippines – With high hopes of getting over a million votes here in next year’s elections, the camp of Nationalista Party standard-bearer Sen. Manuel Villar Jr. “raided” yesterday what is perceived to be the bailiwick of the administration and of perceived presidential hopeful Sen. Francis Escudero.
This developed as Villar formally administered the oath of Gov. Luis Raymond “Lray” Villafuerte as NP member. The governor bolted from the administration Lakas party where he served as deputy spokesman.
Villafuerte joined the ranks of Davao del Sur Gov. Douglas Cagas and Surigao Gov. Robert “Ace” Barbers who recently joined Villar’s NP. Villafuerte, Cagas and Barbers are former Lakas stalwarts.
In ceremonies at the Camarines Sur Watersports Complex (CWC) yesterday, Villafuerte led the long list of new NP members that now includes Vice Gov. Salvio Fortuno, nine mayors, 13 vice mayors, 264 councilors, 720 municipal leaders and 112 incumbent provincial leaders.
About 30,000 supporters and committed grassroots leaders trooped to the CWC, clad in orange shirts, to show their support for Villar’s presidential bid.
The CamSur governor, along with Lakas leaders of the province, took their oaths before Villar, who flew to the Bicol region through Legaspi City and motored towards this first class municipality.
Being the largest among the six provinces in Bicol both in terms of population and land area, Camsur has two cities: Naga and Iriga.
All in all, the NP hopes to get a majority of the 1.2-million votes in CamSur and a big slice of the Bicol region’s total of 2.5 million voters.
Escudero, who is from the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), hails from Sorsogon while Liberal Party standard- bearer Sen. Noynoy Aquino enjoys the support of Naga Mayor Jesse Robredo, a longtime LP ally.
Presidential son Dato Arroyo is the congressman of CamSur’s first district.
“We believe in the leadership of Senator Villar, whose track record sets him apart from the rest of our presidential hopefuls. As the only one with solid experience in the executive level, he will be able to govern the country from day one and achieve results. Having started from scratch and made his mark, his strength is what our calamity-torn country needs,” Villafuerte said.
Villafuerte expressed hope that Bicol will be in better condition with Villar at the helm of government.
In response, Villar said the political alliance with the governor and his supporters would bolster his desire to serve the Bicolanos.
“Having Gov. Lray and the people of CamSur as formidable partners in our pursuit to improve the lives of our citizens empower our efforts and delivery of results needed by the nation. I am deeply grateful for your overwhelming support,” Villar said.
Delegations from Catanduanes, Sorsogon, Masbate, and Camarines Norte were also present during the mass oath-taking.
In swearing allegiance to NP, Villafuerte said the Nacionalista Party is the most organized and strongest political group in the province, fielding candidates from the provincial down to the precinct level in the forthcoming elections.
League of Municipalities president Nabua Mayor Ferdinand Simbulan, Vice Mayors League president Nathaniel Capucao, and Councilors League president Antonio Olaño were among those who took their oaths.