A cleaning lady.
That’s what socialite Margarita “Tingting” Cojuangco has been telling thousands of United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) supporters about what she will do should she be elected as senator.
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Struggling to speak in Tagalog and Cebuano, Cojuangco introduced herself
as ‘Walis Tingting’ which she said may help the country clean up the
garbage that is in the Senate.
“Ako ang magwawalis ng mga basura sa Senado,” Cojuango said during her speech in Cebu City.
Cojuangco,
wife of business tycoon Jose “Peping” Cojuangco, labored to connect
with masses who tend to ignore her all throughout her speech in the
towns that UNA sortie has visited so far.
Except for the part
when she mentioned that two of her five daughters include award-winning
equestrian and actress Mikey as well as chef China, the former model was
met with awkward silence.
“Pamangkin ko po si (President
Benigno) Noynoy (Aquino) dahil si Peping at si Cory ay magkapatid. But I
am UNA sapagkat naniniwala ako sa mga leadership ng mga kasama ko,”
Cojuangco said.
The former Tarlac governor then joined Vice President Jejomar Binay in hitting the Liberal Party.
She
said the chief executive’s father, martyred Senator Benigno “Ninoy”
Aquino Jr., would not have been able to fight the late dictator
Ferdinand Marcos without her husband’s help.
“Nung si Ninoy ay
nasa Fort Bonifacio noong panahon ng Martial Law, wala syang party na
pwedeng takbuhan sapagkat ang Liberal Party ay hindi po nagsuporta kay
Ninoy,” she said.
She recounted how her husband helped President
Aquino’s father to create political party Lakas ng Bayan (Laban) with
Binay, and former Senators Neptali “Nep” Gonzales, Teofisto Guingona,
and Aquilino “Nene”
Pimentel Jr. among others in 1978.
Cojuangco,
who used to serve as chairman of defunct Kabalikat ng Mamamayang
Pilipino (Kampi) of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, said she
also wants to follow her nephew’s tuwid na daan.
“Tulad ho ng
ating President Noynoy, lahat po kami ay gusto na matuwid ang daan
ngunit gagawin po naming mas magaling sapagkat gagawin naming tahimik
at malinis,” Cojuangco said.
Cojuangco, who is a colonel in the
reserve force of the Philippine Army, promised to work for an enhanced
peace and order in the country.
“Ipaglalaban ko ang safety nyo…
What good is a cellphone and then mawawala, hindi ba? Kasi may snatcher.
Yan ang problema sa atin,” she said.
She also promised to
increase internal revenue allotment (IRA) that would enable barangays to
provide more jobs, education, electricity and health services for
people in far-flung areas.
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“Tingting Cojuangco naman can do this
for you ngunit kailangan ko ang inyong tulong sapagkat ang isang walis
tingting ay hindi kaya kapag isa lang,” she said.
“Ngunit pag marami ang mga tingting at lahat sama-sama ay uunlad at Pilipinas,” she concluded.
Through
her husband, the Cojuangcos acquired many of the biggest companies in
the Phillippines, including Hacienda Luisita and San Miguel Corporation,
the largest beer brewer in the country.
