Villar woos Cavite anew

Nacionalista Party standard-bearer Manny Villar returned to historic Cavite yesterday, a little over a month after NP's earlier campaign sortie in the province.

"Ang Cavite ay isang napakalaking lalawigan kaya kailangang balik-balikan para maipakita namin sa mga Caviteño ang aming suporta at pakikisama sa kanila," said Villar. Cavite is a known bailiwick of NP senatorial bets Gilbert Remulla and Bong Revilla.

Villar and his senatorial slate had breakfast at the Island Cove Resort and Leisure Park in Kawit, where they also met up with local officials led by NP gubernatorial bet and former Cavite Vice Gov. Jonvic Remulla.

The NP team made a public market tour, a staple in the NP campaign trail, as Villar and his mother used to sell fish and shrimp in Divisoria Market in Manila.

Villar also visited some campuses in Cavite, including the Philippine Christian University and Emilio Aguinaldo College in Dasmarinas where NP candidates were mobbed and cheered by students.

After Dasmarinas, the convoy motored to the Tropical Village in General Trias for a mini-rally before thousands of supporters. Senatorial candidates of the party were given a chance to address the crowd and spelled out their vision for the nation.

Villar and the other NP candidates then went on a motorcade to Noveleta.

The group capped yesterday's campaign trail with a rally at Rosario Plaza in the fishing port of Rosario town that drew a record crowd.

If elected president, Villar said he would restart the derailed Baclaran-Cavite Light Rail Transit (LRT) project. The Cavite line of the LRT project was abruptly scrapped in January due to politics, although the Arroyo administration has been insisting the cancellation was due to lack of material time to ground-break the project.

According to reports, however, Malacañang's decision to scrap the project is President Arroyo's way of punishing local officials who have turned opposition.

The LRT extension line is an 11.7-kilometer connection from Baclaran to Bacoor, Cavite. The new line will have 10 passenger stations and will run through Las Piñas and Parañaque going to Cavite.

The LRT Line 1 - which stretches from Monument to Baclaran - carried 149.44 million passengers last year. The LRT extension line to Cavite will provide convenience for millions of Caviteños and at the same time open new business opportunities for both Caviteños and Metro Manilans.