GMA opponent on speakership: She must win first

GUAGUA, Pampanga , Philippines  – A rival of President Arroyo in the race in Pampanga’s second congressional district said she must win first if she wants to become speaker of the House.

Adonis Simpao, the Liberal Party (LP)’s candidate against Mrs. Arroyo, yesterday said he is confident he will beat her and will bank on the political maturity of Kapampangan voters to clinch the victory.

Simpao is a businessman engaged in a family-owned construction company in this province and counts himself among Pampanga’s middle class.

“I hope President Arroyo and her allies realize that she is not a sure winner here in the second district of Pampanga. We intend to give her a very good fight and we intend to win. I believe in the end the Kapampangans will vote for the true Kapampangan and not someone who didn’t even grow up in the province,” he said in reaction to reports that her congressional allies plan to install her as speaker of the House in the 15th Congress.

Simpao admitted he faces an uphill battle against the President and her formidable machinery and resources.

He criticized Mrs. Arroyo for conducting an early campaign through the hundreds of millions spent on projects she approved for the second district.

President Arroyo was reported to have spent P459 million in infrastructure alone in 2009 in the district comprising of her hometown in Lubao, Guagua, Sta. Rita, Sasmuan, Floridablanca and Bacolor.

“At present, I have been conducting casual group discussions to get advice on how to better make our voters aware of the real motive behind the projects used by the President to lure them,” he said.

Simpao said he would rely on the political maturity of the Kapampangan voters and cited the case of Pampanga governor Ed Panlilio, who won against presidential ally Lilia Pineda.

Panlilio won as governor despite not having political machinery and financial resources.

Panlilio, a former parish priest of Betis, Guagua, won by 1,147 votes against Pineda who was the candidate of the administration Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Kampi). Pineda, wife of accused gambling lord Rodolfo “Bong” Pineda, filed a protest and has won a recount.

“I have confidence the Kapampangans will show the same maturity in the second district in the coming elections. It’s a maturity being bolstered further by their awareness that Mrs. Arroyo’s candidacy is propelled by her desire to be House Speaker and skirt responsibility from possible criminal charges against her and her family,” he said.

He cited reports that presidential son Rep. Mikey Arroyo will be among the nominees of the group Galing Pinoy, which is among the 144 party-list groups accredited by the Comelec.

“This only affirms the real motive behind the congressional bid of Mrs. Arroyo,” he noted.

Simpao insisted that his candidacy was neither forced on him nor accepted because of lack of choice. Local civil society leader Irwin Nucum, a close friend of Simpao, said the latter’s victory is not far-fetched. 

“He is simple, down-to-earth, and always concerned about other people. And he is a man of courage with a long-term vision. But much depends on the conscience of the Kapampangan voters. They must now realize how President Arroyo has become the embodiment of patronage and transactional politics. That is where his victory lies, and it is a victory that is therefore achievable,” he said.