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Raissa Robles

Fernando Poe Jnr  has sought to shore up his flagging campaign for the Philippine presidency  by aligning himself with the family of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

During a rally in the Marcoses' home town, Poe paid homage to his glass-encased corpse, then raised the hands of Marcos'  widow Imelda, daughter Imee and son Ferdinand 'Bong Bong' Marcos.

It struck a jarring note with some of Poe's supporters, who have been promised a government free of  corruption if he wins.  The former dictator,  along with another Poe ally, deposed president Joseph Estrada,  recently made it onto Transparency International's list of the world's 10 most corrupt former leaders.

'Shameless' was how Carol Araullo of the private watchdog group Plunderwatch  branded Poe's association with Estrada and the Marcoses, both of whom she said had been 'historically proven to be thieves and abusers of power'.

She said  the Marcoses and Estrada would now be part of the actor's 'inner circle' and would exert their influence on him.

Estrada's first action when elected president in 1998 was to try to bury Marcos in the heroes' cemetery, in exchange for the family's political and financial support.

Poe, a godson of the Marcoses  and close friend of Estrada, halted the plan and saved Estrada from a powerful public backlash.

This time, Mrs Marcos is ecstatic, Mrs Araullo said.

'She is already talking about getting a hero's burial for Marcos once Poe becomes president.'

Poe dodged reporters' questions on the matter.

Senator Aquilino Pimentel,  who is running for re-election on the actor's ticket, conceded the people would find it 'hard to accept a hero's burial for Marcos'.

But he saw no contradiction in aligning himself with Poe when he has in turn allied himself with the Marcoses and Estrada. The senator was jailed four times for periods up to a year by Marcos. 'I think Fernando Poe needs the support of all sectors of society,' he said. 'I support him without any condition, whether he allies himself with the Marcoses or not.'

Early in the race to next month's  election, Poe was considered a sure winner. But infighting and his refusal to talk to the media have stalled his campaign.

Poll results show he has been overtaken by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Yesterday, at least five young staffers quit the Coalition of United Filipinos' media bureau,  including Rowan Pagkalinawan, the  publicity writer assigned to Poe. Mr Pagkalinawan refused to say why he had quit but sources said the staffers were frustrated by their failure to get their candidate to accept interviews.

Poe's spokesman Francis Escudero  said the media bureau  was 'not a lifeline of the campaign'.

He said Poe's popularity and sincerity would help him win.



Poe turns to Marcos clan to recharge campaign