{"id":1471198,"date":"2021-08-09T17:03:45","date_gmt":"2021-08-09T09:03:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsinfo.inquirer.net\/?p=1471198"},"modified":"2021-08-10T18:07:47","modified_gmt":"2021-08-10T10:07:47","slug":"viral-campaign-materials-video-disowned-by-sara-gives-away-clues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinfo.inquirer.net\/1471198\/viral-campaign-materials-video-disowned-by-sara-gives-away-clues","title":{"rendered":"Viral \u2018campaign materials\u2019 video disowned by Sara gives away clues"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Sara<\/a><\/p>\n

MANILA, Philippines\u2014A now viral video of several men seemingly proud of what they\u2019re doing\u2014loading onto a plane what one of them said were campaign materials for Sara Duterte\u2014has raised more questions than answers especially after the President\u2019s daughter disowned the activity.<\/p>\n

As Sara said she was open to the idea of running for president in a bid to replace her father, it apparently drove those hoping she would join the race to escalate efforts to prop President Rodrigo Duterte\u2019s second eldest child.<\/p>\n

READ: Sara Duterte now open to run for president in 2022 polls<\/a><\/h3>\n

Even as Sara, currently mayor of the Duterte hometown Davao City, has yet to make her decision final, several groups and individuals are already busy preparing for her plunge into the presidential race.<\/p>\n

Among these were three men, who took a video of themselves, loading supposedly campaign materials for Sara on a plane from the Davao International Airport bound for Clark International Airport.<\/p>\n

READ: Sara Duterte to decide on possible presidential bid by October, says Hugpong exec<\/a><\/h3>\n
\"\"<\/a>

Angeles City Councilor and Ituloy ang Pagbabago Movement Secretary General Joseph Ponce flexes President Rodrigo Duterte\u2019s fist bump while taking a video in front of a cargo plane at the Davao International Airport. SCREENGRAB FROM PONCE\u2019S VIDEO<\/p><\/div>\n

The video showed the three\u2014a certain Gino who was referred to as manager of PSI Air 2007 Inc in Mindanao, Angeles City Councilor Joseph Ponce who is secretary general of the Ituloy ang Pagbabago Movement (IPM) and Rene Gabriel, IPM political affairs head\u2014having fun as they loaded what was described in the video as campaign materials for Sara.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the dialogue recorded in the now viral video:<\/p>\n

Joseph Ponce:<\/strong> Okay, ito si sir Gino, ang pinaka-manager ng PSI dito sa Mindanao. Ito \u2018yung cargo plane ng PSI na magtratransport sa mga campaign materials ni mayor Inday Sara sa pagtakbo bilang Presidente ng ating Pilipinas.<\/em><\/p>\n

Libre po ang kasunduan natin at very successful po ang meeting namin sa kaniya together with our operation head\u2014the future governor of Sarangani, sir Bong Aquia.<\/em><\/p>\n

Nandito po kami ngayon sa Davao International Airport, ayan, in a while, aalis na po kami papuntang Clark. So kasama ko po ngayon ang ating political affairs ng Ituloy ang Pagbabago Movement at siyempre ako, papakuha rin ako, hawakan mo [ang] video para makita ako.<\/em><\/p>\n

Rene Gabriel:<\/strong> Ito po ang ating secretary general, si Councilor PG Ponce para sa ating Dumper partylist 3rd nominee.<\/em><\/p>\n

Joseph Ponce:<\/strong> So in a while, sasakay na po tayo. Maraming salamat po. Thank you, sir Amir, the owner of the PSI cargo plane, marami po siyang destination all over the Philippines so magkakaroon tayo ng libreng transportasyon lalo na sa mga campaign materials ng Ituloy ang Pagbabago Movement. Maraming salamat<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

The front part of the PSI Air 2007, Inc. cargo plane shows its registration number RP\u2013C9110. SCREENGRAB FROM PONCE\u2019S VIDEO<\/p><\/div>\n

Sara has since denied that she had talks about the use of a cargo plane to transport campaign materials for her, saying that she never told anyone that she will run for president and that she does not know the men who took a video of themselves at the Davao International Airport.<\/p>\n

READ: Inday Sara refutes viral video: \u2018I have never told anyone that I am running for President\u2019<\/a><\/h3>\n

In an interview with 黑料社, Ponce stressed that he did not state that they had talks with the Davao City mayor.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was referring to the \u2018success\u2019 of the meeting with PSI Air 2007, Inc.,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The video showed boxes being loaded to the cargo plane. Ponce said that the cargo airline will provide \u201ctransportation services\u201d for free. However, he explained that the boxes did not contain campaign materials and that those were not from IPM.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

A certain Gino who was referred to as the manager of PSI Air 2007, Inc. in Mindanao wears a vest with the logo of the airline cargo company. SCREENGRAB FROM PONCE\u2019S VIDEO<\/p><\/div>\n

The cargo plane, a Boeing 737-348 that was shown in the video, was registered as PSI Air RP\u2013C9110.<\/p>\n

Sara stressed that she is not part of IPM and is not privy to the group\u2019s activities. She warned those who are pushing her to run for president against using her name \u201cin their personal transactions\u201d because she does not tolerate such practices.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do not tolerate these activities and I do not hesitate to pursue legal action against those who besmirched my reputation even if they are supporters,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

IPM, Hugpong ng Pagbabago links<\/h2>\n

Last July 9, Sara said she is willing to run for president in 2022, saying that \u201cwhat is important now is that we know the sentiments of the people and what they really want.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two weeks later, the Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP), the regional political party that was formed by Sara, launched the IPM \u201cgrand caravan\u201d to back the Davao mayor\u2019s possible presidential bid in 2022.<\/p>\n

READ: Hugpong Ng Pagbabago fully supports Sara Duterte says confidant<\/a><\/h3>\n
\"\"<\/a>

Graphic by Ed Lustan<\/p><\/div>\n

Results of a Pulse Asia\u2019s survey, said Sara was \u201cmost preferred\u201d presidential candidate with 28 percent of 2,400 respondents saying they would vote for her if elections were held on the day of the survey.<\/p>\n

READ: Duterte-Duterte tandem leads in Pulse Asia survey<\/a><\/h3>\n

Present at the launch of IPM was IPM National Chairperson and Davao Occidental Gov. Claude Bautista who is also the president of HNP and the father of Dumper\u2013PTDA Rep. Claudine Bautista, the partylist group mentioned in the viral video.<\/p>\n

READ: Sara Duterte\u2019s new regional party seeks Comelec approval<\/a><\/h3>\n

The Philippine 黑料社 Agency (PNA) described a photo from the IPM caravan as \u201cthe successful launching of IPM organized by the pillars of HNP\u201d and that it brought political leaders and political groups together to endorse Sara for president.<\/p>\n

HNP spokesperson Anthony del Rosario said that the IPM caravan was proof of Davao Region\u2019s \u201cundying support\u201d for the President\u2019s daughter.<\/p>\n

The PNA report said that Sara, after learning of the result of the caravan, expressed gratitude to all individuals who have given her trust and confidence.<\/p>\n

Personalities\u2019 links<\/h2>\n

The video mentioned several individuals and groups being credited for the supposed operation to transport campaign materials for Sara. Those mentioned were, however, not ordinary Filipinos just expressing support for their preferred presidential candidate.<\/p>\n

Ponce is a lawmaker in Angeles City, an ally of the President in Central Luzon, who was expected to be the third nominee of Dumper\u2013PTDA, a partylist group endorsed by Sara in 2019. Ponce and Dumper were mentioned in the controversial video.<\/p>\n

READ: Administration lawmakers push more probes of ABS-CBN<\/a><\/h3>\n

In 2020, the group\u2019s representative, Claudine Diana Bautista, was one of 70 congressmen who killed the franchise of ABS\u2013CBN, the Philippines\u2019 broadcast giant that found itself at the receiving end of the President\u2019s expletives.<\/p>\n

READ: House panel closes down ABS-CBN<\/a><\/h3>\n

Bautista was one of the authors of a July 2020 resolution which called for an investigation of the Development Bank of the Philippines\u2019s supposed condonation of a P1.6 billion loan to companies belonging to the Lopez family which owns ABS\u2013CBN.<\/p>\n

READ: Bill for revival of ABS-CBN franchise referred to House committee<\/a><\/h3>\n

In the video, Ponce also mentioned Bong Acquia who, he said, was with him in the meeting. Acquia is a businessman and the former chairperson of the Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group in Southern Mindanao who ran for Sarangani governor and lost under the ruling Partido Demokratiko Pilipino\u2013Lakas ng Bayan (PDP\u2013Laban).<\/p>\n

He is presently serving as the operations head of the IPM.<\/p>\n

In 2011, Acquia was referred to by 1st Lt. Rio Anthony Gammad of the Charlie Company of the 73rd Infantry Battalion as one of the alleged financiers of an illegal small-scale mining activity in Sarangani.<\/p>\n

In an interview with 黑料社, Acquia dismissed the allegation as \u201cbaseless and pure hearsay,\u201d saying that he himself will not permit illegal activities in Sarangani.<\/p>\n

PSI Air 2007, Inc. was contracted by the Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) in 2020 as an air cargo service for its COVID-19 response through a P25 million deal.<\/p>\n

The contract was signed by OCD and officials from PSI Air 2007. Inc., including its chief executive officer Amirhossein Moghaddasi who, Ponce said, is his \u201cfriend\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u2018Run, Sara, Run\u2019 posters<\/h2>\n

Since last year, despite the absence of confirmation from Sara herself, several groups posted streamers in many areas asking her to run.<\/p>\n

A quick search on Facebook and Google showed that \u201cRun, Sara, Run\u201d posters reached 26 areas in the Philippines \u2013 from Metro Manila to the Kalayaan Island Group in the West Philippine Sea.<\/p>\n