Flowers, blood for voters on V-Day

From donating blood to giving away flowers, senatorial candidates cooked up various election gimmicks as they capitalized on the Valentine’s Day celebration yesterday.

And possibly because it was the day of hearts, candidates from both the administration and opposition took time out from political brickbats.

Team Unity candidates Juan Miguel Zubiri and Michael Defensor donated blood to the Philippine National Red Cross in Intramuros, Manila. Zubiri was accompanied by his wife, model Audrey Tan during the event, without much fanfare.

Zubiri and Defensor said it was the best way for them to encourage more people to donate blood for those in need.

Both also echoed the call of the unity slate for a "higher-level" of campaigning for the May elections.

The Unity Team is yet to hit the road for the campaign, which will kick off in Cebu on Saturday.

The opposition, on the other hand, started early by hitting the streets in targeting the urban poor in Metro Manila.

Opposition candidate Senate President Manuel Villar Jr. assured they would still attend the two-day special session called by President Arroyo on Feb. 19 and 20.

For his part, Villar personally gave flowers and chocolates to his female employees and staff as a way of thanking them for their dedication and support.

He also scheduled a dinner with his wife Las Piñas Rep. Cynthia Villar and their children to celebrate the special day.

With regard to the special session, Villar said: "We have no choice, we have to do it although as far as the Senate is concerned we have finished our pending work. The Lower House still has to finish and approve a number of bills on third reading. If there is no quorum, then it will be just be an open-close session."

Opposition candidate Sen. Panfilo Lacson, for his part, was accompanied by his wife Alice on the campaign trail.

An arch critic of the administration, Lacson went on to greet President Arroyo and First Gentleman Jose Miguel "Mike" Arroyo on the day of hearts and appealed to other candidates to declare a Valentine moratorium, even just for the day.

"At least for one day, let’s not focus on personalities but let’s base our campaigns instead on the issues and platforms of government. So I wish Attorney and Mrs. Jose Miguel Arroyo, Happy Valentine’s Day," he said.

Sen. Francis Pangilinan, for his part, went to buy flowers for his wife Sharon Cuneta at Dangwa in Sampaloc, Manila.

In a message to fellow candidates, Pangilinan said "instead of hitting one another, let us love our country and campaign in a high level manner. We should consider first our country so we will graduate from poverty and an improved economy."

Both Villar and Pangilinan are running as independent candidates but were adopted as "guest candidates" by the opposition’s Grand Coalition.

Lacson said there is nothing wrong with Villar and Pangilinan campaigning on their own.

He said the United Opposition would still include them in their campaign "just to show good faith and goodwill they deserve for not joining the administration ticket."

But the most important, Lacson said, is for the candidates to be independent even after the elections.

No public sex, please

Philippine police were given additional orders for Valentine’s Day: be on alert for overly enthusiastic affection in public places.

Police director for operations Wilfredo Garcia on Wednesday instructed officers to monitor parking lots, parks and other public places for couples exhibiting a little too much passion on Cupid’s day.

In past years on Valentine’s Day, couples have been caught making love in the back seats of cars in prominent areas such as the Cultural Center of the Philippines in Pasay City along Manila Bay, Garcia said.

"If it’s simply kissing, that’s all right," said Garcia. "(But) the people we’ve arrested there in the past were engaged in actual sex already."

Aside from CCP, Global City in Taguig is also a favorite spot for lovers in cars, the police official said. Pasay and Taguig are part of Southern Police District, where Garcia served as district director before his promotion.

"But this (campaign against immorality) is secondary, what we want to prevent is for lovers to be victimized by robbers or any criminal elements while they are busy with each other," said Garcia. "These lovers are also prone to blackmail, now that there are cellular phones with capability to take pictures ad videos."

The Philippines is overwhelmingly Roman Catholic, and although a conservative society where divorce is outlawed, extramarital affairs are common.

Manila police also were ordered to watch motels for violations of city ordinance banning "short time" stays, Garcia said, adding that the three-hour rate or shorter can be availed of in Pasig and Pasay.

In Palawan, couples wed in an unusual Valentine’s Day ceremony on this western Philippine island yesterday as they stood ankle-deep in mud to mark their commitment to the environment.

The 100 barefoot couples, dressed in white, stood in the swamp facing the sea and exchanged vows in a ceremony officiated by the city mayor.

"You will be an example of true love not just to your partner but to the environment," Mayor Edward Hagedorn said in a short speech after marrying the mostly poor couples from Palawan island’s capital of Puerto Princesa.

"This is part of our showing our care for nature. That is why we dubbed it as a love affair with nature," Hagedorn said.

The official ceremony was free of charge for the couples in exchange for planting mangrove saplings in the swamp and helping further to protect their island.

This strange combination of environmentalism, romance and aid to the poor has become an annual event in Puerto Princesa, which has been pushing an image of cleanliness and ecological activism to attract tourists to Palawan.

For 72- year-old farmer Protacio de Ocampo, the free ceremony was a chance to make official his relationship with 67-year-old partner Teofela Apolinario.

The pair have been together since 1958 but de Ocampo has been too embarrassed to approach officials to arrange a traditional wedding because he is illiterate and could not sign the marriage license.

"It would be embarrassing if they passed away without getting married. At least now we know that their union would be recognized in heaven," said their daughter Leonora Apolinario, 58, who witnessed the mass wedding along with her daughter and some 3,000 other guests.

Josephine Rodriguez, 27, wearing a dress she borrowed from her partner’s aunt, said she was thankful for the ceremony as she and her construction worker husband could not afford a private one.

"Maybe later when we have money we can have a private wedding," said the mother-of-one who spent most of the ceremony trying to keep her dress out of the mud.

She said she understood the importance of the mangrove swamp, which serves as a nursery and habitat for small fish and anchors the fragile soil on the shore to prevent erosion.

"It’s a lot of fun. And this is good because this is where the smaller fish can live," she told AFP.

Maribel Hermoso, 28, had given birth to her second child two weeks ago when she waded into the matrimonial swamp with her lover Jesus dela Cruz, 48.

"It’s a real different thing and an excitement that I never felt before in the past years that he’s been kissing me," she said when asked to describe how she felt after Jesus kissed her at end of ceremony.

The couple have been together for more than five years. Their two-year-old firstborn Jaymar and baby boy were left to their neighbor’s attention.

Afterwards all the newlyweds celebrated with wedding cake and a shoreline banquet of omelets and fried noodles, courtesy of the city government. -AFP, AP, Claudio Daquer Jr., Cecille Suerte Felipe