LIBERAL PARTY (LP) candidate for City Councilor Zenaido “Djingo” Rama on Thursday condemned a smear campaign against his partymates, saying there are attempts to “poison” the minds of city electors with lies and baseless accusations. “Right from the start of the campaign, our team led by mayoralty candidate Atty. Agustinus “Dodong” Gonzaga and vice mayoralty bet Jose Antonio “Toto” Veloso, have been running a clean campaign strategy that encourages the electors to engage in discussions which are critical and rational, not underhanded tactics like mudslinging,” Rama said after reports surfaced that their group allegedly accused rival candidates of being either ‘drug users’ or ‘coddlers of drug pushers’ in one of their sorties in Barangay Tiptip recently. In fact, the rumors spread in media elicited sharp comments from a spokesman of a rival party who issued a challenge to City LP bets to undergo drug tests with their candidates, if only to prove none of them are involved in illegal drugs.

“The challenge came too late since most of us already volunteered to be tested for illegal drugs right from the start of the local campaign period, just as the entire LP slate in the province had freely done – from Gov. Edgar Chatto, First District Rep. Rene Relampagos down to all candidates – which was extensively covered by media. Did it slip their attention or are they just trying to get some media mileage out of the information which is totally false and fabricated?” Rama asked. A check made by LP handlers and ward leaders proved that no comments were made by Gonzaga or any of the other candidates in the slate making allegations against their rivals of being “drug addicts or users” during their village caucuses, Rama disclosed. “By making such comments, the said spokesman of the opposing camp is purposely suggesting to the public that certain candidates of the City LP slate are ‘drug users’ which is a serious accusation and is totally baseless,” Rama stressed. Rama said anyone from the rival parties or any interested individual may obtain copies of the results of their drug tests, said Rama who was among those who complied with an initiative made by Gov. Chatto to undergo drug testing. “With LP candidates now occupying the top spots in latest surveys conducted by the Holy Name University-Research Center, political adversaries could be resorting to black propaganda as a desperate move to sway voters in the final stretch of the campaign period,” Rama said.

The surveys validate that LP candidates from Governor, Vice Governor, Congressmen, Provincial Board Members, City and Municipal slates are showing a clear dominance in the various electoral races, Rama added. Even in Tagbilaran City which many political observers view as a hotly-contested race among three political camps, LP candidates are reaping the rewards of huge positive ratings obtained by Chatto, Relampagos and other administration party stalwarts. The three surveys of HNU-RC indicate the apparent double-digit momentum of city mayoralty bet Atty. Dodong Gonzaga while early frontrunner City Councilor John Geesnell Yap is on a double-digit slide while Yap’s uncle, Dr. Abraham Lim is also gaining some points. (Please see the comparative Graphs below.) “They must do something significant in order to reverse the rising trend of Gonzaga and this bold accusation is just one of their desperate attempts and we warn the electors to expect more,” Rama emphasized. The dominance of LP candidates here is just a mirror-image of the national landscape, which according to Rama is an obvious indication that the people want President Aquino’s reform agenda of inclusive growth anchored on the “daang matuwid” slogan to continue in the next three years. But despite the good performance and the snowballing of support which they are getting from critical sectors of the community, Rama said their team will continue to work hard in the homestretch of the campaign to ensure victory for their partymates.