Marcos loyalists to back Lacson, Puno

Marcos loyalists have thrown their support behind two senatorial candidates running under disgraced President Joseph Estrada’s Puwersa ng Masa coalition in the May polls.

The True Marcos Loyalists Inc., which boasts of four million members nationwide, said yesterday it would endorse the bids of former Philippine National Police chief Panfilo Lacson and former Press Secretary Ricardo "Dong" Puno.

Cherry Cobarrubias, the group’s president and official spokeswoman for former First Lady Imelda Marcos, said the two Estrada allies have platforms that jibe with the loyalists’ own.

"Puno wants to address the problem of the fisherfolk, small entrepreneurs and marginalized sector of society while Lacson wants to address peace and order, which is key to economic recovery," Cobarrubias said in a telephone interview.

Last month, Mrs. Marcos and her loyalists expressed full support to the administration of President Arroyo. Even before the impeachment trial started last December, they dumped Estrada, saying they believed the former president was guilty of the charges against him.

Marcos loyalists will take part in the congressional elections in May to get a party-list seat in the House of Representatives.

In another development, Cobarrubias said they were not impressed with the Global Non-Violence Award, which was received by Mrs. Arroyo the other day on behalf of the Filipino people.

The award, conferred by international organizations Center for Global Non-Violence and the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates Foundation, recognized Filipinos for the non-violent uprisings that toppled two widely perceived corrupt regimes – the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos’ in 1986 and Estrada’s last January.

Cobarrubias said they take exception to the recognition of "false heroes."

She appealed to Mrs. Arroyo to stop referring to former President Corazon Aquino as a "heroine," saying the woman who led the uprising against Marcos failed in her duty as president of the Republic.