Why did Alyansa bets end up with Bulacan State U for press conference?

Not us, then who?

To cap off almost 90 days of asking questions from both local and national journalists on the campaign trail, it was the turn of Senate bets of the Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas to ask a question on Wednesday, May 7: Who picked the library of the Bulacan State University as a venue for the slate’s press conference ahead of a sortie in Malolos, Bulacan?

“Unang-una wala po kaming kinalaman dito, hindi nga namin alam na dito kami pupunta until last night, ako particularly. So, ‘yun tama rin naman ang mga estudyante, naintindihan natin ‘yung situation nila pero sana ‘wag naman kaming sisihin, kasi kami naimbitahan lang kaming pumunta dito,” said Ping Lacson, who is seeking a return to the Senate, in a press conference.

(First of all, we had nothing to do with choosing the venue. We didn’t even know it would be held here until last night. The students are right, we understand their sentiments but I hope they don’t blame us because we were only invited to come here.)

When a handful of Alyansa Senate bets arrived on campus early for the press conference, they were greeted by a protest action by students of the state university.

Earlier, Bulacan State University’s student government lamented the use of the campus for an Alyansa event.

“Sa dinami-rami ng mga hotel, multi-purpose hall, at resort sa Bulacan, talaga naman ang napiling venue para sa Press Conference ng Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas pero Lumang Mukha ay sa Bulacan State University—pamantasang ayaw sa mga trapo, magnanakaw, mamamatay-tao, korap, at mga konserbatibong kandidato,” the student council said in a post on Facebook.

(Of all the hotels, multi-purpose halls, or resorts in Bulacan, they had to pick Bulacan State University as the venue for the press conference of the Alliance for a New Philippines but with old faces — a university that is against traditional politicians, thieves, killers, the corrupt, and conservative candidates.)

The student government also pointed out that none of the Alyansa candidates made it to a preference poll conducted by the university paper.

Erwin Tulfo, among the national preference survey front-runners from Alyansa, shared Lacson’s sentiments.

“Nagulat nga ako, nagsisigawan ‘yung mga estudyante. Naalala ko tuloy noong estudyante ako. Pero may punto nga naman sila kaya ‘yung sinasabi ni Senator Lacson — ang eskuwelahan dapat ilayo sa mga politiko. Dapat walang politics dito. Ewan ko kung sino ang naglagay sa amin dito. We really don’t know. Nagulat na lang ako, akala ko mayroon kami sa sports center complex daw, biglang sabi kanan mo diyan sa Bulacan State. Sabi ko, akala ko mag-lunch lang. Sabi ko, yari. Sabi ko, ang istorya bukas, Alyansa ni-rally ng mga estudyante,” he said.

(I was surprised when I saw students screaming. I remembered when I was a student myself. But Senator Lacson does have a point — schools should be isolated from politics. I’m not sure who decided to put us here. We really don’t know. I was surprised myself because I thought we’d go to the sports center complex, then they told us to suddenly turn right towards Bulacan State. I thought we’d only have lunch here. I was thinking, we’re in trouble. I said, well that’s the story tomorrow: Alyansa bets met with protest by students.)

Tulfo added that they already asked campaign manager Toby Tiangco, who was also finding out who had arranged for Bulacan State University to be the slate’s host.

“Because dapat talaga naman huwag sa mga eskuwelahan. Off limits dapat sa school (These activities shouldn’t happen in schools. Schools ought to be off limits),” he added.

The university was not just a venue for the press conference, but site of a merienda or afternoon snacks hosted by Bulacan Governor Daniel Fernando.

The May 7 campaign event was the Alyansa’s penultimate in the campaign trail and their second visit to the vote-rich province. – Rappler.com