On the week that Christians all over the world remembered how Judas Escariot betrayed Jesus Christ with a kiss, a news report came out that administration candidate Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro Jr. had been abandoned by Mike Arroyo in favor of Nacionalista Party standard bearer Manny Villar.
Obviously, Arroyo did not kiss Teodoro to signal the betrayal as he was in the hospital the entire week, but the “kiss of death” was nevertheless delivered, not to Teodoro but to Villar, who has long been rumored to be the “secret” candidate of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, hence the monicker “Money Villarroyo.”
Villar himself knew any hint of support from the Arroyos was a “kiss of death” and so he steadfastly denied any alliance with the Arroyos the very next day. A discreet support would have been alright, after all Villar was willing to make deals with just about anybody as reflected in his senatorial ticket, but with the Arroyos it had to be as secretive as it could be, one that he could deny when exposed.
Teodoro also downplayed the report as “rumors” but his actions defied his official word. He resigned as chairman of the Lakas-Kampi-CMD upon hearing the report, saying that he needed time to focus on his campaign and that the party needed to elect a new chair to attend to the needs of the party’s local candidates.
Earlier, it was reported that Teodoro had been complaining of lack of support from the party and that his campaign was running out of funds. It’s unusual in the Philippine political setting that a candidate supposedly backed by a sitting president would be complaining of lack of funds, unless, of course, the administration is supporting another candidate or is not supporting anybody.
The news on the betrayal of Teodoro also came amid reports that several Lakas-Kampi-CMD leaders are abandoning ship and jumping on to Villar’s wagon. Among the more prominent political butterflies were Ilocos Sur Gov. Chavit Singson, a very close Arroyo ally and deputy national security adviser; Davao del Sur Gov. Douglas Cagas; Compostela Valley Gov. Arturo Uy; Bukidnon Gov. Jose Ma. Zubiri; Cebu Rep. Nerissa Soon-Ruiz; and the prominent Garcia clan of Cebu, led by Rep. Pablo Garcia. They all declared their support for Villar.
Now, why would these top Lakas-Kampi leaders and close Arroyo allies support Villar if they did not have the nod of their avowed leader? One could argue that they are opportunists and wanted to be with the winning team, but why did not a single soul move over to the camp of Liberal Party presidential candidate Sen. Noynoy Aquino, who was after all leading in the surveys?
Teodoro had every reason to be upset and quit as party head. He was running out of funds and was not getting any visible support from the party. With only a month to go before the elections, the party’s leader, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, has yet to raise his hands or join him in the campaign. Party members are abandoning Lakas-Kampi and the party is obviously in disarray, and Arroyo has not lifted a hand to stop the bleeding.
It’s as if he was thrown into the gladiators’ arena without a weapon while those who conned him into running were placing their bets on the opponent. And yet, Teodoro could have helped the widely discredited administration party boost its stock a bit, being one of the most qualified among the candidates, his only fault was his being too naïve to believe his great credentials could offset the woefully bad image of the party and its top leader Arroyo.
It was obvious that the Arroyos never believed that anybody they anointed would ever win the presidential election. In fact, the female Arroyo does not even appear interested in what the outcome of the elections would be, perhaps because she firmly believes that she didn’t need the election to remain in Malacanang. The male Arroyo, being the more realistic one, would rather play it safe and cast his lot with the more winnable candidate, in the person of Villar.
In any case, the younger Arroyos have been tasked to reassure Teodoro of the family’s support, mainly to douse cold water on rumors that the Arroyos are backing Villar and hopefully to stop the media from further prying into a possible Villarroyo deal. Reps. Mikey Arroyo and Dato Arroyo are hosting Teodoro during his campaign sorties in Pampanga and Camarines Sur. But don’t expect the mother to be there. After all, they are just for show.
It was reported that it was Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia who told Teodoro that it was Mike Arroyo who persuaded his family to back Villar. Garcia had defied her family’s decision to support Villar and has remained loyal to Teodoro. Neither Teodoro nor Gov. Garcia has denied the report.
While Teodoro has denied reports that he was withdrawing from the race, he did not make any comment on the report that Mike Arroyo was the one who talked the Garcias into supporting Villar. Neither did he say that he was confident that the Arroyos were fully supportive of his candidacy.
Neither Gloria nor Mike Arroyo directly declared that they were still supporting Teodoro, although deputy presidential spokesman Gary Olivar said his boss was still supporting Teodoro and that there was “no evidence” that Mike Arroyo was backing Villar.
Teodoro has all the credentials to be a major presidential contender. I think he is smart enough to realize soon enough that he is being used by Arroyo. The earlier he realizes this, though, the faster he would recover politically.