THE presence and endorsement of Susan Roces for the congressional bid of Dagupan City Benjie Lim and the heavy turnout of tens of thousands of people joining the week-long Bangus Festival in Dagupan City has sent Speaker Joe de Venecia into a frenzy of vote-buying and other campaign activities he never did before, the Team New-Po claimed last Tuesday.

This developed as the Genuine Opposition expressed elation over the surge of PDP-Laban and GO congressional bet Lim against JDV after it exposed the massive vote buying operations of the House Speaker doling out P100,000 worth of insurance cards to Pangasinan voters.

“This is a good sign in Pangasinan as well as for the GO candidates who are expected to make a good showing in that vote-rich Northern Luzon province,” said GO Spokesman Adel Tamano.

Tamano cited the observation by the local press following a heavy public turn-out in the Pistay Dayat now called Bangus Festival in Dagupan City.

]Although the yearly festivities were mainly staged by the city government of Dagupan led by Mayor Benjie Lim it has evolved through the years as the grand provincial fiesta of Pangasinan.

“May tulog na ngayon si Speaker Joe,” observed Orly Navarro, top broadcast commentator of Aksyon Radyo.

Navarro explained that the heavy demonstration of support of participants and visitors to the re-enactment of Guinness Book of Record for the longest barbecue grill and the street dancing showed that local folks appreciate the efforts of Lim to bolster the economy and tourism in Dagupan and nearby towns.

His stock was further bolstered when Susan Roces, widow of the late Fernando Poe, Jr. who is widely believed to have won the 2004 presidential elections, personally came over to openly endorse the bid of Lim against de Venecia during the festivities.

Based on the latest SWS survey, Susan’s endorsement has a “36 percent positive pull” and is the most credible endorser among national leaders.

Lim was one of the few city mayors in the country who supported the late actor FPJ. Poe Jr. beat GMA by 48,000 votes in Pangasinan in that election despite reports of vote padding for GMA by close to 150,000 after the counting. FPJ should have won in Pangasinan by at least 200,000 votes.

The display of support to Lim has reportedly sent JDV on a frenzy of vote-buying. He was seen leading his men in house-to-house campaigns and distributing not only insurance policy cards but goods and cash in towns outside Dagupan, the city’s opposition group said..

It was the first time in his many years in politics that the Speaker and his wife, Gina de Venecia, scion to a movie empire, did the rounds of actually visiting voters in their homes, distributing goodies and cash during campaigns, the New-Po Media Bureau said in a press release.