No conflict if Poe, Binay seek NPC support – FPJ Campaign Manager

TRAIL BLAZER. Senator Grace Poe blazed out
2016 presidential rival Vice President Jejomar
Binay in the June 2015 Pulse Asia's  poll survey.

By Mortz Ortigoza

After the son of Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco, the chairman emeritus of the Nationalist People's Coalition, endorsed months ago Vice President Jejomar Binay as his presidential bet in the 2016 election, the 2004 presidential campaign manager in Pangasinan of the late Fernando Poe, Jr. said there is no conflict in case Senator Grace Poe joins the NPC.

No conflict

“Mark (Cojuangco) will wait for what NPC will endorse. He will endorse Binay to the party but he will follow who will be the party will endorse (in the convention). That was what Mark said in Sto. Tomas (Pangasinan) when VP Binay was there,” the chair of Abono Party-List and Samahang Industriya at Agrikultura said.

NPC is the second most powerful party after the Liberal Party in the country.

The brouhahas that NPC would face a dilemma after the young Cojuangco, the provincial chair of the NPC in the vote rich Pangasinan endorsed last March Binay as his personal choice for the Presidency spawned a stir at the social media after Chairman So, a political ally of the Cojuangcos, brought recently  in Pangasinan Senator Poe for powwows.

A stir

“Paano na si Binay ni FC (former Congressman) Mark Cojuangco? Kung si Grace Poe pala ang manok ni Campaign Manager?” posed at Face Book by Vangie Padilla, a media ally of gubernatorial aspirant Amado Espino III, the son and name sake of Pangasinan Governor Espino, and Cojuangco’s putative rival for the governorship in the 2016 election.

So said that the statement in the meeting at Sto. Tomas  of Cojuangco answered all the questions after Cojuangco endorsed last March in Binmaley, Pangasinan Binay as his personal candidate for president.

Padilla lauded So for enlightening her.

“Okay.My apologies for not being there Chairman, with your reply I am enlightened,“ She said.

Cojuangco announced last March that he would honor whom the NPC supports in the presidential election.

“Bagama’t ako po ay pribadong tao, ako ang chairman ng Nationalist People’s Coalition dito sa probinsiya. Ang proseso namin sa pagpili ng aming susuportahan ay proseso na dinidesisyunan ng mga nakatataas sa amin. Pero bilang chairman, ipaglalaban ko na ma-adopt si VP Binay ng aming partido bilang kandidato namin para sa pagka-presidente ng Pilipinas pagdating ng 2016”.

Liberal Party stalwart and Pangasinan former Congresswoman Rachel Arenas, a senatorial wannabe, denied that Cojuangco’s endorsement of Binay was final.

“Ang pagka-intinde ko Cong Mark has not really endorsed. Ang nangyari lang ang sabi ni Cong Mark he is waiting for the party’s decision. But alam ko the vice president visited and Cong Mark was with him. Siguro to give respect also because he is the incumbent second highest positioned (person) in the land”.
Arenas, her mother  Representative Rosemarie "Baby" Arenas (3rd District, Pangasinan), Former Speaker Jose de Venecia, Representative Gina de Venecia (4th District, Pangasinan, and Representative Marlyn Primicias-Agabas (6th District, Pangasinan) are loyal political allies of Cojuangco.

NPC members gravitates for Poe-Escudeto's tandem

Earlier, Deputy House Speaker Giorgidi Aggabao, the NPC president, was reported as saying that party members were inclined to support a Poe - (Senator Chiz) Escudero presidential and vice presidential ticket.

“There’s nothing definite, but most of us, most of the members of the NPC, agree with what President Aggabao said,” Senator Tito Sotto said in an interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Sotto cited that the duo could easily get the backing of the NPC because they are considered as “closet members” of the Party.

Both Poe and Escudero have no party affiliation.

Escudero was a former presidential bet of the party in the 2010 election but backed out and resigned from the NPC but remained friendly with the party.

Poe eclipsed Binay as poll leader

In the latest survey of Pulse Asia, Poe zoomed by 8 percentage points Binay who used to reign in the polls.

The lady senator, who has yet to declare her moist eye for the presidency, got 30 percent while Binay, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo, Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada, and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas settled in 22, 15, 10, and 10 percent, respectively.

In the same survey for the vice presidential bet, Poe, Escudero, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, Duterte, and Senator Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. landed 41, 15, 12, 9, 9 percentage points, respectively.

The survey, conducted from May 30 to June 5, covered 1,200 respondents, 18 years old and above. It had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

The respondents were asked, “Of the people on this list, whom would you vote for President of the Philippines if the 2016 elections were held today and they were candidates?