Sen. Rodolfo Biazon found out Saturday that the color yellow of his presidential candidate, Liberal Party standard-bearer Sen. Benigno "Noynoy’’ Aquino was not welcome in a mall owned by Nacionalista Party standard-bearer Sen. Manuel Villar Jr. in his hometown of Muntinlupa City.
An irked Biazon said that personnel of Metropolis, a mall owned by Villar, had not only taken down a yellow streamer of Aquino which his camp had put up there but also kicked out altogether his party from the premises.
But more galling for Biazon was that mall personnel also took down yellow ribbons and flowers adorning the space of his next-door neighbor there and then replaced them with decorations in the color orange—Villar’s campaign color.
"They came... like the Gestapo,’’ said Biazon, a former armed forces chief of staff, in reference to the term feared secret service of Adolf Hitler, the German behind the Second World War.
In a phone interview, Biazon said his staff had rented space on the fourth floor of the mall and since last week had already held three voter education and training sessions for his poll watchers.
But on Saturday, the training program did not push through after mall personnel "kicked us out’’ from the premises, according to the senator.
He said the decision of mall personnel to cancel their rental of the space came after they took down the yellow streamer bearing the immages of Aquino and his running mate Sen. Mar Roxas, which his staff had put up.
"We paid for the place. They have no business to do that,’’ said Biazon, adding that he planned to "take action’’ but would first consult his son, senatorial candidate Rep. Ruffy Biazon.
But, apparently, Biazon’s space was not only the object of the mall’s attention.
The senator said that earlier on Saturday, he was a guest speaker at the graduation rites for children of five Muntinlupa day care centers that was held just next door to the space occupied by his office in the same mall.
Before he arrived to deliver a speech, Biazon said day care center officials were aghast when mall personnel came in and suddenly took down all yellow ribbons and flowers adorning the stage.
"And to think there were other decorations there in green and blue,’’ he said.
Mall personnel later replaced the decorations with those in orange color, according to Biazon.
He said he pitied the teachers who were just trying to make the place special for the kids.
"They’re acting as if the owner is the President of the republic,’’ scoffed Biazon, saying that even if Villar was president, his men "have no right to do that.’’
The Inquirer was still trying to get a comment from the Villar camp Saturday evening.
David Mikael Taclino
Inyu Web Development and Design
Creative Writer
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