Newsbreak: Cardiologist fights lonely battle vs Mikey Arroyo

By Aries Rufo and Emily Green in Pampanga, Newsbreak Magazine He travels in a van without any campaign banner, accompanied only by six supporters, including his secretary and father-in-law. At every pit stop, they would give away photocopies of his biodata, and sometimes would paste his posters. On the road, he fails to attract attention. His solitary vehicle has no blaring campaign jingle to announce his presence. A loud-voiced Protestant pastor serves as his barker, who also doubles as his campaign manager. Residents politely welcome him with a smile, but one could sense they are wondering who that man who just offered a handshake was. Since the local campaign began, Joey Montemayor, a cardiologist, has been waging a lonely battle against presidential son Juan Miguel “Mikey" Arroyo in Pampanga. Montemayor’s campaign is deprived of finances and machinery. The result is a guerilla-type campaign, lacking logic and order. Still, he plods on, pressing as many hands as he can, as if compensating for the lack of money and machinery with hard work. Offering a choice “I am doing this to give the Campampangans a choice and a chance for good governance," Montemayor said. “Having a choice is the essence of democracy." Montemayor is the only other candidate for Pampanga’s 2nd district, where the young Arroyo is the incumbent congressman. Arroyo’s camp had long thought he would run unopposed for a second-term, until Montemayor filed his certificate of candidacy two days before the deadline. He said he purposely did not make noise of his intention to run to surprise Arroyo’s camp. Arroyo was reportedly turned off by Montemayor’s candidacy but he did not show this in a short interview with Newsbreak. He maintains he is “practically unopposed" and he underscored this by hardly campaigning at all in the second district. On the last week of the campaign, Arroyo toured instead the first district to campaign for the administration’s senatorial ticket. “I am busy campaigning for (the administration’s) senatorial candidates. I am more concerned about that." Measly support Being endorsed by the Liberal Party hardly mattered to Montemayor’s candidacy since he has yet to receive any organizational or financial support from the party He may have gained some media mileage for having the heart to launch a campaign against Arroyo, but it was not enough to generate support, say for instance, the kind that independent gubernatorial candidate Fr. Eddie Panlilio is enjoying against incumbent Mark Lapid and board member Lilia Pineda. So far, only three persons were generous enough to contribute to his campaign: his father-in-law who shelled US$1,000, a classmate who donated three boxes of campaign materials and a former patient who gave him 190 campaign t-shirts. He said he has already spent P70,000 from his own pocket. The tight budget is evident in meals: sandwiches for breakfast and packed meals for lunch. The only indulgence consists of bottled water or canned softdrinks. In contrast, Arroyo’s staff had their meals in fast food chains. Despite the financial constraint, Montemayor said he is trying to cover as much ground as he could. Pampanga’s second district covers the towns of Porac, Floridablanca, Sta. Rita, Sasmuan, Guagua and Lubao, from where President Arroyo hails. Except for Lubao, Montemayor said he has been to the five other towns, doing market tours, and stopping in places wherever people congregate. (Newsbreak joined him in whistle stops in Sta. Rita and Floridablanca.) His group would approach people playing poker, youths playing billiards or huddling women. He would go from house to house, introducing himself as the other candidate. Montemayor said he is using the personal approach to compensate for the lack of money, adding that Capampangans appreciate a candidate who goes out of his way to court the voters. He is also banking that voters would spread his candidacy by word of mouth to offset his lack of machinery. Small mercies Montemayor finds solace in discovering that there are some voters who would rather not vote for the congressional race thinking that Arroyo is running unopposed. He would get sympathetic support in unexpected places. In Barangay Calantas, Floridablanca for instance, housewife Sally Manalang, 40, allowed the group to stay in her place for a short rest. The group eventually ate their packed meals in Manalang’s house, sparing them the discomfort of having lunch in the van. “Buti lumaban ka (It’s good you put up a fight)," Manalang told Montemayor. “Di na sana ako boboto kung walang kalaban si Mikey (I wouldn’t have voted if Mikey were unopposed)." She vowed to tell relatives and friends that a doctor is also seeking the post. Trucker Jesus Cura, 57, said he finds it offensive that Arroyo has not bothered to campaign in his district because he is confident of winning, anyway. Cura said he would vote for Montemayor to make a statement. Track record? Since the local race began, Arroyo admitted that he had campaigned only on five occasions. The hospitalization of his father, First Gentleman Mike Arroyo, prevented him from conducting more campaigns, he says. Besides, he sees no need to campaign hard since he is counting on his track record to put him through another term in Congress. He cited the subsidy he has provided farmers and fisher folk, “that’s very, very appreciated by my constituents." If pride is the beginning of the fall, it does not apply in Arroyo’s case. Montemayor, despite two failed gubernatorial bids, remains unknown to most voters and his candidacy, largely unheard of. Manalang and Cura for instance, did not know there was another candidate until Montemayor came knocking on their doors. Several voters interviewed by Newsbreak expressed the same sentiment. Local church leaders being courted by Montemayor also were not aware that he is running until after Montemayor paid them a visit. Pastor Gil del Rosario of the Cavalry Network of Missionary Churches and Rev. Ernest Jimenez of the Full Gospel Christian Church expressed surprised that Arroyo has an opponent after all. “All along I thought he was running unopposed," Jimenez told Montemayor. Montemayor blamed Arroyo’s camp for the lack of information on his candidacy, pointing to the disqualification case filed against him before the Comelec. Arroyo has sought Montemayor’s disqualification on the ground that he could not conduct a decent campaign. He said media reports on the disqualification case misinformed the public. Ignored It also did not help that Montemayor failed to engage the support of Panlilio, who is whipping up a storm in the three-way gubernational race in Pampanga. According to Panlilio, Montemayor suggested a tie-up but the priest declined the offer, saying his group has decided not to be affiliated with anyone. The local media has been largely ignoring Montemayor’s campaign, favoring the more exciting races to cover. Still, Montemayor believes that “if the votes are counted right," he has 70-80 percent chance of winning the congressional race. “People are generally disappointed, disgusted with the present kind of politics they have had." Arroyo, on the other hand, said a survey showed that only four percent of the voters would vote for Montemayor. It may be a lonely battle, but Montemayor is not alone. - Newsbreak