BACOLOD CITY, Negros Occidental, Philippines ? Boxing hero and Saranggani Representative Emmanuel Pacquiao and Gretchen Oppen Cojuangco, wife of business tycoon Eduardo Cojuangco, have separately called on the Filipino people to rally behind President Benigno Aquino III and do their share to help him succeed.
Pacquiao said the message of Aquino at his inauguration was beautiful and he hoped the new President could fulfill all the promises that he made.
?Aquino’s task ahead is very difficult, he needs all the help he can get,? said Pacquiao, who was here Saturday night to administer the oath of office of reelected Mayor Evelio Leonardia, a good friend of the boxing champion.
Pacquiao and Gretchen Cojuangco, along with Senator Franklin Drilon, were in Bacolod City for the inauguration of Leonardia along with his Vice Mayor Jude Thaddeus Sayson and the councilors of the city at the new Bacolod Government Center.
?I am calling on all Filipinos to unite and help so that the dreams and promise to lift the people out of poverty can be attained,” he added.
Mrs. Cojuangco said she was very happy that Aquino, a nephew of her husband, won the presidency.
?We should all do our share for the country in whatever way we can and pray hard that the Lord will help our new officials,? Mrs. Cojuangco said.
“We should all pray so that he (Aquino) will succeed because he is very young. I think he will make a good president because a lot of people believe in him,? she added.
Mrs. Cojuangco said she and her husband could not go to the inauguration of Aquino last June 30 because it was hot. “Mr. Cojuangco can not be in a very hot place because it?s bad for his heart,” she explained.
She said her husband was happy, too, that Aquino won.
“I’m a wife and what my husband feels, usually wives feel more,” she added.
The Cojuangco couple did not openly endorse the candidacy of Aquino but many knew of the support they extended to Aquino. Their daughter, Liza Cojuangco-Cruz, campaigned for Aquino and even went around in several sorties with her cousin Kris, the youngest sister of the President.
Mrs. Cojuangco, at the height of the campaign, publicly spoke against their other nephew, Gilbert Teodoro, the Lakas-Kampi-CMD standard bearer who only came fourth in the presidential race.
The business tycoon had kept himself away from the public eye amid talks that he was unwell, a report that his family has repeatedly denied.
Mrs. Cojuangco said her husband has in fact started a project to provide graduate studies scholarships to public school teachers in Tarlac similar to what they provided to the teachers of Negros Occidental through the University of St. La Salle in Bacolod City to improve their teaching skills.
Pacquiao, who is an adopted son of Bacolod City, meanwhile lauded Leonardia for the growth of Bacolod under his leadership, noting that the city had been cited for being the most competitive livable city in the country.
Drilon, who was the guest speaker at the inauguration rites, also congratulated Leonardia for his achievements in Bacolod, adding that the latter would make a good senatorial candidate for the Liberal Party in 2013.
“We can certainly use the talent and experience of Mayor Leonardia in the legislature,” Drilon said.
