Ifugao Rep. Teddy Baguilat Jr. was quoted as saying that his yellow patron's decision to campaign for the opposition has solidified the mandate of the Liberal Party to lead the political opposition. He added:


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"By campaigning for the senatorial slate, he (Aquino) becomes an iconic and powerful counter to President Rodrigo Duterte and his political allies," and that "on the strength of his record as a President alone, the constituency will get a clear choice of what the opposition slate stands for."

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<img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.kahimyang.com/resources-6/lp-aquino-sm.webp" alt="Noynoy Aquino" />
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One has to ask: What strong record has the yellow President left? The Disbursement Acceleration Program funds which he used to bribe the members of Congress to impeach and convict a sitting chief justice merely because he went against the hacienda interests of the Aquinos and Cojuangcos when he and his court ordered the parceling of the Hacienda Luisita for the tenants?


What else is so strong and great about his record, pray tell, when he ordered the arrest of his political foes who posed an election threat to his and his Liberals' plan to be in power for 12 years straight? His vindictiveness toward his political foes, to the point of ordering trumped-up cases to be filed against them, including fabricating evidence and perjured testimony to ensure their long detention? His refusal to call in his military for air assets to protect the Special Action Forces commandos who were being slaughtered by the Muslim insurgents?


There are so many more misdeeds and abuses committed by the yellow President that would need more than a page to fill with his sins against the people when he was in power and position.


Apparently, however, he and his Liberal allies, as well as other yellow-tainted allies, appear to live in an unreal political world, relying, of course, on the yellow media to gloss over his sins.


Yellow, the color with which the Aquinos and the Liberals are associated and for which color they are known politically, stinks and is pretty unpopular at this time.


Even the pre-election survey has his cousin, Bam Aquino, a senatorial reelectionist, down on the list.


It is, of course, true that pre-election surveys at this time are fairly useless, since there is still no list of senatorial candidates and until there is an official opposition list.


And, of course, the yellow list must be compared with the list of coalition parties' senatorial candidates, since the rankings could very well change in a few months.


But it is clear, this early, that even Noynoy Aquino's once senatorial allies seeking reelection have more or less allied themselves to the regional party of the presidential daughter, as well as aligned themselves as guest of coalition parties such as the National People's Coalition.


Few appear to be attracted to Noynoy's yellow party at this time, perhaps knowing that the political stench smelled during the yellow President's reign and the abuses he and his administrators committed are much stronger and smellier today.


At this time, it is proving difficult for the yellows to even form a full senatorial slate. Some of the names they are tapping aren't even listed in the first 24 pre-poll surveys.


But it also must be said that the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino (PDP) list of candidates isn't that hot either, mainly because a lot of the names of senatorial bets come from the House of Representatives, many of whom are clearly not national figures.


The PDP does have some reelectionist senators in its line-up, but they just took their oath of allegiance to Sarah Duterte's regional party, as well as getting a slot as guest senatorial candidate in the NPC.


It has also been noted, at least going by the 2016 elections, that the endorsement power of then presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte was not that convincing or powerful as his list of candidates then, save for some known national senatorial hopefuls running for reelection or a fresh election, who were adopted late by him, really made it on their own.


Even his vice-presidential bet Alan Cayetano lost badly.


The huge majority of Filipinos voted for Duterte to be their President, and that was the most important to them, as a vote for a President is a personal vote, unlike the way they vote for their senators.


Still, it's early days for more reliable survey rankings of senatorial candidates, but what seems pretty certain is that the yellows, even with their yellow patron campaigning for them, may not succeed in getting his bets to win Senate seats - unless the Smartmatic miracle succeeds in doing away with the yellow stench that still pollutes the political air.





Sources: 

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The yellow stench lingers on, <a href="https://goo.gl/5Fcws3" class="news_link" target="_blank" title="Source">Ninez Cacho-Olivares</a>, August 24, 2018, Daily Tribune
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(This article is adapted from the source listed above. We are unable to grant permission for any kind of reproduction other than social media shares.)

Aquino to campaign for the opposition based on his own record?