DAGUPAN CITY - If a presidential election can be won on the basis of the people's warmth in receiving a candidate, then Senator Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III, Liberal Party standard bearer, seems to have taken Pangasinan.
At the St. John the Evangelist Cathedral here on Wednesday, church goers gave him a rousing applause as he walked to the altar to greet newly installed Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas. He received the same applause as he went back to his seat.
"I did not know how to react," Aquino said in a radio interview here on Thursday. "Because if I acknowledged [the applause], I might ruin the solemnity of the affair. And if I did not acknowledge it, people might say I'm a braggart."
At least 3,000 people, including his sisters, Ballsy Cruz, Pinky Abellada, Viel Dee and Kris Yap attended the installation of Villegas, a close friend of their late mother, former president Corazon Aquino.
But as he walked down the altar, Aquino hesitantly bowed his head and briefly waved to the church goers.
It was Aquino's first public appearance here as presidential candidate, although he and his running mate, Senator Manuel Roxas II, visited the province at the height of the flooding caused by rains dumped by tropical depression "Pepeng" and excess water released by the San Roque Dam. They assessed the devastation and distributed relief goods to flood victims.
"Talagang napakainit po ng mga pagtanggap sa atin ng ating mga kababayan dito sa Pangasinan, partikular dito sa Dagupan, Lingayen at Binmaley. Talagang nakakawala ng pagod at nagapasalamat po ako (I am overwhelmed by the warm reception from the people of Pangasinan, especially in Dagupan, Lingayen and Binmaley. This takes all the stress away. I am very thankful)," Aquino said.
He spent the night in this city after meeting with the province's political leaders at the house of Pangasinan Representative Victor Agbayani in Lingayen town and with a lawyers' group here.
Agbayani, a former governor who ran for representative under the administration Lakas-CMD in 2007, has thrown his support to Aquino. He said he has not yet joined the LP but it was "an option."
On Wednesday, Aquino attended a multisectoral dialogue at the University of Luzon here participated in by some 3,000 representatives from nongovernment organizations.
"When I came here, I was really surprised that there are many volunteers helping us," Aquino said. "It's now the people who are pushing for change."
On Thursday, Aquino was scheduled to meet with multisectoral groups in San Carlos and Urdaneta cities.
"Let us do what is right. If we can do it, then opportunities in education, peace and order, health and justice will have relevance," he said.
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