The Philippine Online Chronicles

LP’s complete line-up of 12 senatoriables for the May elections is also known as "SLAMAT LORRRD," an acronym representing each candidates’ initials - Sonia Roco (S), Danilo Lim (L), Neric Acosta (A), Martin Bautista (M), Alex Lacson (A), TG Guingona (T), Yasmin Busuran-Lao (L), Serge Osmena (O), Ruffy Biazon (R), Ralph Recto (R), Risa Hontiveros (R),  and Franklin Drilon (D).

The event was a show of force attended by PNU faculty and students, the candidates’ supporters, and various artists including Hale, Moonstar 88, Sugarfree, Noel Cabangon, Juana Change and others.

Clean Slate

During the slate presentation, all the senatoriables swore that they won’t steal if the people trusted them to lead the country. LP’s slate consisted of young aspirants, signifying a fresh start. According to Sen. Rodolfo Biazon, the LP candidates have not been involved in any political anomalies, "walang bahid ng katiwalian."

The senatorial bets of LP come from diverse social backgrounds - a public school teacher, an imprisoned military general, a college professor, a US-based doctor, lawyers, and a journalist-activist.  Most of them are intellectuals from well-off and politically-inclined families.

Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III emphasized that more than 20 senate candidates asked to be included in the LP’s senate slate, but the party had to choose candidates with integrity and morals. “The primary qualification in being an aspirant for any position in the LP is integrity,” according to Muntinlupa Rep. Ruffy Biazon.

“Though integrity alone doesn’t comprise the obligation in store for a LP candidate, he must also be public service oriented,” the solon said.

Holy slate

SLAMAT LORRRD, or in loose translation “Thank You Lord” is LP's mnemonic tactic to help voters remember candidates' names, a strategy that LP senate slate campaign manager Sen. Francis Pangilinan, believes will help people remember candidates.

SLAMAT LORRRD also implies that LP’s slate is the most morally equipped senate slate for this coming May elections, according to Biazon. Their candidacy is guided by the “higher being.”  Even Sen. Noynoy Aquino and Sen. Manuel “Mar” Roxas II, the party’s presidential and vice presidential candidates proudly expressed that not any one of them have been involved in any scandal throughout their political careers.

“People should be thankful to the lord for there is now a Senate slate who will lead the country to change, LP is also for “Landas ng Pagbabago,” Biazon added.

Not-so-holy after all

Despite this, Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal was reportedly thinking of withdrawing support for Sen. Aquino’s presidential campaign because the Senator co-authored the Reproductive Health Bill or "The Reproductive Health and Population Development Bill (House Bill No. 5043/ Senate Bill No. 3122). He is part of the Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development, a group advocating the bill.

"[Aquino] is a co-author, not [just a] co-sponsor [of the bill]. And that was something. I was disappointed because that means to say if that is true, then there is somehow a kind of anti-life tendency," Vidal said in an interview with ABS-CBN News Cebu. "If he will continue that then I will tell him straight, I have told my people not to elect people who have sponsored... this bill. We need to defend the doctrine of God and the Church, we cannot abandon that”.

According to Cotabato Auxiliary Bishop Jose Collin Bagaforo, Aquino should withdraw his support for the RH Bill because this would be detrimental for his presidential aspirations. The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines would not approve any election candidate who supports the RH bill, because they only agree to natural family planning methods.

With this dilemma, in the second series of ANC’s Presidential Youth Forum held at De La Salle University last January 29, Sen. Aquino’s position on the RH bill softened. Before, he viewed that contraceptives should be made available for free in all government health centers. Now wants to amend the pending RH bill. He even said last year that the Catholic Church should not intervene with government programs on reproductive health.

“I don’t care if the Catholic Church will abandon me because of my support for the ‘reproductive health’ bill. I cannot allow a Church-run state. The Church teaches me that I will follow my conscience. My conscience tells me that we have an overpopulation problem. I have to address it; we need to control the population. We must ensure full availability of contraceptives,” Aquino said in an interview by inquirer.net.

According to Cong. Biazon, Sen. Aquino is willing to compromise with the Catholic Church regarding RH bill and morality. “Ibig sabihin ba na porket against ka sa RH bill pero corrupt ka naman, moral ka na?” he added.

Photo by Rossa Bartolo. Some rights reserved.