PILII, Camarines Sur — Some 70,000 committed supporters attended the oath-taking of the biggest and latest recruits of the Nacionalista Party (NP) headed by Senator Manny Villar, it was learned Wednesday.

Camarines Sur Governor Luis Raymond “LRay” Villafuerte, Vice Gov. Sal Fortuno, eight provincial board members, nine municipal mayors, 13 vice mayors, 264 councilors, and 720 municipal leaders were sworn as new members of the NP at the Capitol complex.

My people believe in the leadership of Sen. Villar. His track record speaks for itself and sets him apart from other presidential hopefuls. His solid experience in the executive level will be his strength and his background is what we need at this time, Gov. Villafuerte said during the oath-taking ceremony.

The governor further stressed the need of the Bicol provinces to improve economically. With Senator Villar at the helm, we trust that Bicol will no longer be left behind. We have been neglected for quite sometime, he said.

Having Gov. LRay and the people of Camarines Sur as formidable partners in my pursuit to improve the lives in this calamity-torn country, I believe we will achieve positive results, Sen. Villar said.

The oath-taking was the latest and biggest recruit of the NP for the past several years. The NP is one of the most organized parties in the province. We will field candidates from the provincial down to all municipal positions with grassroots organizations down to the precinct level come 2010, Villafuerte said.

Sen. Villar’s drive to deliver positive results in spite of many difficulties inspire many Bicolanos and push them to support his presidential bid. His down-to-earth attitude endears him to the grassroots followers.

Delegations from Catanduanes, Sorsogon, Masbate, and Camarines Norte were also present during the rites. Nacionalista Party Spokesman and former Representative Gilbert Remulla and Atty. Adel Tamano also attended the oath-taking.