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VILLAR CAN'T JUST STAND ALONE WITHOUT PACQUIAO'S GLORY By Granville Ampong PhilBoxing.com Sun, 14 Mar 2010 ARLINGTON, Texas, March 12, 2010 - Pound-for-Pound King Emmanuel "Pacman" Pacquiao remains as the potent force for Manuel Villar's presidential candidacy this May 10 Philippine National Elections. Despite the unprecedented ad buy of over one billion pesos since November of last year, Villar continues to fall short of his ultimate objective - - that of overtaking Noynoy Aquino, according to Senator Kiko Pangilinan. But, the March 13 episode at the Dallas Cowboy Stadium with the victorious might of Pacquiao making a political statement or momentous appearance of Senator Villar before the camera with the former can in some way send another signal of refreshing and stimulating re-endorsement to the grassroots level. Villar represents the Nationalista Party, of which Pacquiao runs in the same ticket for Congress in the lone district of Sarangani. Other than high spending in the campaign trails, sorties and ads, Villar is seen to be getting extra mileage of exposure with the endorsement by Pacquiao, the Philippine National Treasure and legendary boxer and philanthropist. But, recent Pulse Asia Survey had Aquino leading Villar, 36-29; the SWS Survey had Aquino up 36-34; the Manila Standard Survey likewise had Aquino holding on to a 36-34 lead; while the TNS Survey had Aquino enjoying a 41-30 lead. Except the TNS Survey which was conducted before the end of January, the three others were conducted in February. "The numbers themselves are rather inconsistent. In one survey Sen. Noy's numbers in Mindanao are double that of Sen. Villar's; in another, Sen. Noynoy's lead in the same island is only three points," Pangilinan noted. "We are, however, happy to see that our people have not allowed themselves to be swayed by the deluge of Villar ads on TV," Pangilinan stressed. Meanwhile, "Villar's ads are nothing without Pacquiao's face on it," said Mario Villegas, who flew from Philippines to witness and become part of this historic moment of a Pacquiao fight live here at the over-a-billion-dollar facility in Arlington, Texas tonight. "Villar needs Pacquiao badly," he added. Villar, according to figures from AGB Nielsen, has spent over P120 million from February 9 to March 2 on TV advertisements alone. The figure puts Villar’s total expenditures on political advertisements from November 1 last year to March 2 this year at over P1.3 billion –– an amount almost equal to the total TV ad expenditures of four of his closest rivals. Former President Joseph Estrada ranked second with P88 million, followed by Sen. Aquino with P87 million and Sen. Richard Gordon with P67.3 million, and Administration party bet Gilberto Teodoro Jr. with P60.4 million TV commercials since the start of the campaign period. "This only proves that our people will not support a leader who has been tainted by corruption nor one who is associated with the corrupt. The surveys show that Filipinos want a decent, honest leader they can trust––and they see that in Sen. Aquino," Pangilinan said. Despite current controversy surrounding Villar pertinent to "anomalous C-5 road project" which the presidential candidate benefited over the years of his subdivisions, as alleged by Senator Jamby Madrigal, Villar's popularity as a winnable presidential candidate continues to rise. Villar exerted his influence on the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) so that his properties would benefit from the alleged realignment of the controversial C-5 Road Extension in Para?aque and Las Pi?as cities, according to Madrigal. On the other hand, "Pacquiao's charisma has that power to rekindle the hearts for Villar from the grassroots level," said Jorge Martinez, who claimed to be one of the fans of Pacquiao from Cebu City, Philippines. Pacquiao's appeal fills up the gap between Villar and the less informed especially for this highly contested 2010 National Elections, wherein eight are vying for the presidential post. * * * Note: Granville Ampong, an award-winning speechwriter and a broadsheet columnist for California Examiner, Nevada Examiner and Manila-US Times, is chosen again as the lead/primary writer, along with Dr. Ed de la Vega, a dental-surgeon-turned prolific writer and photo-journalist, for the Pacquiao vs. Clottey, dubbed "The Event", at the Dallas Cowboy Stadium in Arlington, Texas, this March 13, 2010. You may send your comment(s) to granvilleampong@aol.com. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Granville Ampong. |
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