10,000 sign up as poll volunteers for Aquino

By Niña Catherine Calleja
Philippine Daily Inquirer

MaNILA, Philippines — They are not merely pledging their votes to him.

Peachy Prieto, one of the conveners of the Noynoy Aquino for President Movement (NAPM), said 10,000 have so far signed up as volunteers for the presidential campaign of Senator Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III in the 2010 elections.

Right after Aquino declared his candidacy, the NAPM, who had gathered signatures of people wanting him to run for president, has shifted to mounting a “people’s campaign.”

“We were receiving calls and e-mails from people, mostly abroad, inquiring about Noynoy’s campaign,” he said.

Prieto said the volunteers could choose how they would want to help: recruit more volunteers, educate the voters on the automated poll, distribute leaflets, put up posters, attend mass actions, undertake secretarial work at the NAPM center, campaign for Aquino, serve as poll watchers and finance events or campaign materials.

The membership has been notably expanding with provincial chapters opening up in Baguio, Dumaguete, Davao del Sur, Davao del Norte, Leyte, Bukidnon, and Tawi-Tawi, she said.

“What is important to remember is that this is a people-initiated campaign,” she said.

NAPM plans to host picnics and contests to produce campaign materials for Aquino and afterwards, mobile stores on wheels will roam around the country to sell products as a fund-raising project.

The movement is also considering selling “lugaw” (porridge) meals to raise funds.

Prieto pointed out that the since the NAPM was formed, they have not had to convince people too much to join their cause. “People just come and send their messages through text and e-mail,” she said.

She said members of the NAPM were jubilant with the results of the Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showing that 50 percent of the 1,200 respondents in vote-rich Luzon areas favored Aquino as president.

“How encouraging to know that Noynoy now has the markets of (Sen. Manny) Villar and (former President Joseph) Estrada,” she added, noting that majority of the respondents who chose Aquino came from Class D and E.

Villar and Estrada were leading the SWS and Pulse Asia’s surveys in the past months.

Working with NAPM as umbrella groups are Artists for Noynoy headed by former Sen. Franklin Drilon’s nephew Rock Drilon; and Medical Professionals for Noynoy, which promised to render their time for medical missions and poll watching.

Muslim Leaders in Motion for Noynoy being headed by Ismael Abubakar, Jr., the former speaker of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao Regional Legislative Assembly, has been also formed.

Abubakar said Aquino could obtain the Muslim vote.

“We, Muslims, are as idealistic as our Christian brothers. We want to see change through honest to goodness leadership,” he said.

Abubakar said their group has been aiming to gather support from Muslim communities in Mindanao and develop ab agenda for areas like Tawi Tawi, Sulu, Basilan, and Zamboanga.

“The only way to defeat money in politics is morality in governance, which is one of Noynoy’s strengths,” Abubakar said.

The website www.napm2010.com, which contains updates and contents about Noynoy and his platform of governance, remains under construction but will be up by the end of the week, according to Prieto.