Kris Aquino to supporters: Defend me from bashers

MANILA, Philippines — Embattled presidential sister Kris Aquino is seeking public support after receiving fierce criticisms over her use of a presidential chopper to attend a sortie of the Liberal Party (LP).

Aquino said she has been drawing flak from social networking sites because of the controversy, which has stirred debates on whether she violated the law and used government facilities for election campaign.

"Binubugbog po ako sa social media. (I am being beaten in social media). They said the Aquino family is abusive, that we are thick-faced because I am using the presidential chopper to campaign," Aquino told LP supporters during a sortie in Hagonoy, Bulacan last Thursday.

"Pwede ba ipagtanggol niyo ako (Can you defend me)?," she added.

Aquino then tried to endear herself to the audience by explaining to them why she was panting.

"I was panting because I walked three kilometers to reach this venue because of slow traffic," the actress said.

"Ang mga guards na kasama ko naloka na lang nang sinabi ko maglakad na tayo dahil nakakahiyang paghintayin ang Hagonoy (The guards that accompanied me were dumbfounded when I told them that we would just walk because it is embarrassing to let the people of Hagonoy wait)," she added.

Aquino was lambasted by several users of social networking sites after photos showing her arriving at the Casay Airstrip in Dalaguete, Cebu via presidential chopper went viral.

The presidential sister then traveled by land to Argao town where she attended a sortie of LP presidential candidate Manuel "Mar" Roxas II and his running mate Camarines Sur Rep. Maria Leonor "Leni" Robredo. The photos were uploaded by the Municipality of Dalaguete to its Facebook page last Wednesday, but the LP sortie happened a day before.

Section 261 of the Omnibus Election Code regards as an election offense the use of "any equipment, vehicle, facility, apparatus, or paraphernalia owned by the government or by its political subdivisions, agencies including government-owned or controlled corporations, or by the Armed Forces of the Philippines for any election campaign or for any partisan political activity."

Militant groups have described the chopper incident as a "shameless use of government funds and resources for partisan political activity."

Malacañang has defended Aquino's use of the presidential helicopter, saying members of the president's family are permitted to ride official government vehicles with him.

President Aquino has also justified his sister's use of the chopper, saying he just wanted to show her the positive results of the democracy that their parents fought for.

Roxas, for his part, claimed that Aquino's attendance at the LP campaign rally did not entail additional costs.

The Commission on Elections is now looking into the viral photos but noted that no one has filed an actual complaint against the presidential sister.