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Bongbong on KBL’s Acosta: ‘I don’t even know what he looks like’


Vetellano Acosta, the standard bearer of the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan founded by the late Ferdinand Marcos, really needs to work doubly hard to be recognized by the public, as even the KBL founder’s son and namesake said he was not aware who the fellow is or where he came from. In an interview with GMANews.TV, Ilocos Norte Rep. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he does not even know what Acosta looks like. "Hindi, hindi ko siya kilala. Hindi ko alam kung ano’ng itsura niya, hindi ko alam kung sino siya... parang nagiging biro na lang yung kanyang pagtakbo (I don't know him. I don't even know what he looks like. It seems that his running is a big joke)," said Marcos. The Ilocos Norte congressman, in a seeming bid to follow his father's early political footsteps, is seeking a Senate seat under the banner of the Nacionalista Party led by its presidential standard bearer Senator Manuel Villar Jr. "Hindi ko alam kung kelan siya naging member ng KBL at nakakapagtaka nga kung paano siya nakatakbo dahil hindi naman maliwanag kung ano yung mga adhikain niya, kung ano yung makinarya niya (I don’t know when he became a member of KBL and I'm wondering why he was allowed to run because it isn’t clear what his advocacies are, what his machinery is)," the senatorial candidate said. KBL then and now The KBL, founded by the late President Marcos in 1978, was the dominant political party in the Philippines until Marcos' ouster in 1986 through a popular uprising led by the late President Corazon Aquino. The party remained as a rallying point for pro-Marcos loyalist political activities under the subsequent Aquino, Ramos, Estrada and Arroyo administrations. Today, the party continues to enjoy some electoral support in the late dictator’s home province, Ilocos Norte. KBL will be fielding seven senatorial candidates, including Nanette Espinosa, Shariff Ibrahim H. Albani, Alma A. Lood, Regalado E. Maambong, Ma. Judea G. Millora, Imelda A. Papin, and Hector L. Villanueva — all of whom were included in the initial list of approved candidates. Broadcaster Jose “Jay" Y. Sonza will be running as the party's vice presidential bet. Marcos said he initially thought of running under the KBL and be a guest candidate of NP, but because of internal squabbles in the formerly monolithic party led by his father, he decided to run under NP instead. He still considers himself a member of KBL but he is now looking at it from the outside. "Hindi na ako nakikisali sa mga desisyon sa loob ng KBL (I no longer participate in the decision making within KBL)," Marcos said. The Ilocos Norte politician said the process of choosing the KBL candidates was not clear. In the past, the leaders would choose who among their members they will nominate, then they will affirm the nomination in a convention. Doubts about Acosta candidacy Acosta was earlier disqualified by the Commission on Elections from running due to what the poll body claims was his failure to prove that he could launch a nationwide campaign without the backing of a political party. The Comelec decision was overturned after Acosta filed a motion for reconsideration with a certificate of nomination from the KBL. The Liberal Party had also questioned Acosta's qualification to run, saying the latter is not the official KBL bet because the party failed to pass the certificate of nomination before the Dec. 1, 2009 deadline. (See: Acosta not official KBL bet, LP insists) The LP further asserted that Acosta was only running to dislodge its standard bearer Senator Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III from his original alphabetically top-ranked position in the list of candidates for president to be printed on the ballots. It was also found recently that Acosta is not a registered voter of Precinct 6, Barangay Tejeron, Sta. Ana, Manila, as he claimed in his certificate of candidacy. (See: KBL's Acosta may be ineligible to run for president) —JV, GMANews.TV

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