LIBMANAN, Camarines Sur—Presidential son Diosdado Ignacio “Dato” Arroyo is building a house here to establish residence and qualify him to run in congressional race next year, representing the first district of Camarines Sur.

        Arroyo is taking the first district of Camarines Sur as his political base, served in a silver platter, so to speak, by Budget Sec. Rolando Andaya Jr., the political kingpin in the seven-town congressional district.

        Honored as an adopted son of Camarines Sur through a resolution of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, Arroyo’s affinity with the province has been officially sealed.

        When his mother was still senator, Arroyo transferred from Ateneo de Manila University to Ateneo de Naga University. He graduated in October 1998 with a degree in Bachelor of Science in Business Administration Major in Legal Management.

        The circumstances of the presidential son’s transfer to Ateneo de Naga University are not known but his classmates remembered him as a cool, soft-spoken guy who was cordial and did not show any flamboyant air.

        The presidential son stayed in Naga City for four years from 1994 to 1998 where he fluently learned to speak the language.

Speculation
        In 2004, Arroyo has already raised speculation that he was joining the political fray in Camarines Sur when he rented a house owned by the relatives of the late senator Raul S. Roco in San Felipe, Naga City. President Macapagal-Arroyo stayed overnight at her son’s rented house when she was on a working visit to Camarines Sur in September 2004.

        The talks about Arroyo running for Congress, representing the seven-town first district of Camarines Sur, started late last year at the time when he decided to build a house in vote-rich Libmanan town, the biggest of the 35 towns in Camarines Sur comprising 75 villages.

        Choy Ranillo, caretaker of Arroyo’s house in the village of Potot here, said that the presidential son visits once a month.

        Arroyo’s entry in Camarines Sur’s local politics has been anticipated notwithstanding his two years exposure and regular sorties in several towns of the province.

Ally
        With staunch ally in the person of Gov. Luis Raymund “LRay” Villafuerte, the presidential son has been going around the province accompanying the latter, attending town events.

        Since Villafuerte took office in 2004, he launched a series of goodwill basketball exhibition games in the 36 local government units (LGUs) in Camarines Sur wherein Arroyo and the governor, both in their 30s, always played together with other teammates from the members of the provincial board against the team from the host LGU.

        But earlier this year Andaya was actually grooming his wife Marisa to secure the congressional seat as he had served his third term.

        Mayor Rodolfo Jimenez of this town, a key political leader of Andaya in the first district of Camarines Sur, confirmed on Saturday that his “boss” has indeed declared to them that he would field his wife in the congressional race.

        “He (Andaya) called me up two days ago and told me that it would be Dato now. I cannot go against him. I will follow whatever he wants,” Jimenez said.

        He could only guess that Andaya may have conceded because, he said, Arroyo could stay for one term and then eye for the Senate after which, he added, the latter could recoup his leadership in Camarines Sur’s first district.

        Arroyo’s running for a seat in Congress has been reinforced by the formal alliance of Andaya and Cong. Luis R. Villafuerte, representative of Camarines Sur’s second district, on Oct. 31 at the Villa Caceres Hotel in Naga City.

        Villafuerte, a KAMPI stalwart is a close ally of President Macapagal-Arroyo and the only political leader here who can field candidates in the other three districts of Camarines Sur.

Official candidate
        Mayor Gil Basmayor of Minalabac, Camarines Sur, a long-time ally of the Villafuertes, said on Sunday that Andaya and the elder Villafuerte have already called a meeting of all mayors in the first district of Camarines Sur wherein Arroyo was declared the official candidate in the congressional race.

        Basmayor said that the budget secretary has also officially announced the withdrawal of the plan to field Marisa in the congressional race.

        “We have agreed that those mayors who will not toe the line shall be out of the alliance,” the mayor added, referring to the commitment to support Arroyo in his congressional bid.

        Basmayor said another round of meeting will be held next week to further flesh out details of the election agreements between Andaya and the elder Villafuerte and the mayors.

        He said that one of their agreements was that all the incumbent mayors in the first district will run unopposed (meaning Andaya and Villafuerte will not support rival candidate) at the same time that they will throw their all-out support to Arroyo.

        Arroyo, being a presidential son, has already raised expectations from ordinary voters here who believe he could easily access resources and projects for Camarines Sur’s first district.

        Jun Rasonable, local community-radio reporter here, said that Arroyo has a very good chance of winning the congressional race because he is backed by Andaya and the Villafuertes.

        Rasonable said he also expected that if voted to office he hopes that the access road in their village could be rehabilitated considering that the presidential son is “near the kettle”.

        “Baka si Dato Arroyo makatabang samuya. Handa kaming tabangan siya. (Perhaps, Dato Arroyo could help us. We are willing to help him.), added Benjamin Vera, 76, former village chief of Aslong, Libmanan, Camarines Sur.