The Noy-Mar Campaign

Since October 2009, I have been volunteering and gearing for the May 10, 2010 automated elections. When Mar decided to give in to the "clamor of the majority", he invited us to Balay ni Mar at the Araneta complex and announced that we should now support Noynoy Aquino. And so I did.

Around January the Lilles family offered their building at 227 Edsa Ave., PARC HOUSE as headquarters of the Liberal Party.  PARC HOUSE  was built in 1980 by Architect Remigio "Memeng" Lilles. The Aquinos and the Lilles families go way back. Architect Lilles built the Aquino house in Times Street. Cindy the eldest child was my batchmate and part of the first batch of women when Ateneo decided to go co-ed in 1973-74. Robert, the eldest son is Mar's batchmate, while the younger Tony and my brother Chito Cruz and sister-in-law Vivian Nepomuceno were Noynoy's batchmates at the Ateneo.Tita Lita Lilles is still very active in the family business and the campaign.

On my daughter's 13th birthday Jan. 16, 2010, I got an email saying that Maria V. Montelibano has accepted the position as head of the communications dept. now referred to as the media bureau. Since I've worked with Maria during the Aquino administration from 1986-1991, ( I was based at the New York Consulate General as Marketing Director of the Department of Tourism), I rushed to the Parc House and volunteered.

On Jan 18, we started in a small room at the second floor of  Parc House with nothing but our cellphones.
Then the equipments came in like manna from heaven, LCD TV's, computers, fax machines,copiers, laptops,digital video cameras for the sorties, then we set up a fully equipped editing room under the helm of Abe Cordero where we could broadcast live to the noynoy.ph  website and provide video contents to other TV and radio networks. We produced DVDs of Noynoy and Mar's campaign ads, jingles, and videos of their various sorties and sent them  to all our supporters around the Philippines. These DVDs were then replicated at their own expense and it spread like wildfire.

We have a media bureau composed of various writers, and a monitoring room for radio, TV, and print, including tabloids headed by Atty. Abigail Valte..They monitored all news and issues that mentioned Noynoy and Mar 24/7. A group called New Media, headed by Enteng Romano would email blast to all concerned. Issues were either addressed or marked for promotion by a Joint Issues Group..

Tita "M" as Maria Vargas Montelibano is often dearly referred to by most volunteers, told me that my position would be "taong bahay". I was tasked to make sure everyone who enters our office is attended to and enlisted if they want to be a volunteer. We were fortunate to have supporters like Ward Luarca, Men Sta. Ana, Enteng Villarama, Chris Tio, Alma Tuason, Jerry Esquivel, Gene Manalastas and Leo Mangubat. We held meetings with Noynoy's batchmates like Atty. Galand who acted as legal adviser and "hawi-boys" during sorties. Some are writers, pundits, and even goffers serving coffee and water. We brought our own food and shared it with everyone.

Tita Cory's original cameramen were also back in full force. Tita M held countless meetings with media, as well as new media for email and text blasts to supporters and fans of Noy and Mar. We regularly held mass and prayed the rosary. I was even fortunate to have been blessed by the famous healing priest Fr. Suarez. We held photo exhibits at the SM Malls for tita Cory, of never been seen photos (with Mother Teresa, Jimmy Carter, Pope Paul), memorabilia, private notes through the courtesy of the Aquino family, and friends like Dr. Alex Ayco and Margie Juico.

On Feb. 25, the anniversary of the first people power, we held an event in Araneta Coliseum for 80,000 supporters, provided food, t-shirts and water through the initiative and prayers of  Jan Co Chua and Merlee Jimenez and countless unknown donors who did not even want to be acknowledged. We do sorties and fun-runs (marathons) while giving out yellow wrist ballers and stickers to bystanders all over Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

On March 31, 2010 Gibo resigned as chairman of Lakas Kampi CMD, so did Dominguez and my dear friend and New York roommate Francis Manglapus. Now, we are faced with the daunting Villar-Gloria money and machinery as more and more Lakas Kampi members continue to defect to the Nacionalista Party because they are afraid of an Aquino-Roxas dispensation.

But we are not afraid nor intimidated. The Filipino people, especially the 91% of the voting populace will no longer tolerate and endure their lust for power and corruption. "kung walang corruption, walang mahirap" "Without corruption, there would be no poverty". We will let them pay for their errant, desperate and shameless attempts to circumvent the Philippine Constitution. If there are defections to the Nacionalista Party, there will be new alliances forged with the Liberal party too. 

Incidentally,  Atty. Loida Nicolas Lewis,  the low-key Filipina tycoon and probably the richest Filipino living in the United States, chairman and CEO of TLC Beatrice International Holdings Inc., a $2 billion corporation of 64 companies based in 31 countries, along with other Fil-Am volunteers had successfully brought our "no elections" concerns to the attention of the Obama government and they are sending a team to monitor the May 10 elections.

The whole world will be watching. So those corrupt government officials and unscrupulous politicians who have houses in California, town houses in New York, and even horse farms in Virginia should really think twice.

We will continue to fight. Tuloy ang laban!