Only the tip of the pen that detained Brig. Gen. Danilo “Danny” Lim will be using to cast his ballot on May 10 will be the only witness as to who among the presidential candidates who have endorsed his senatorial bid will earn his vote.

Lim’s campaign manager Allan Paje said the detained general has decided to keep mum on his presidential candidate of choice, especially after the Magdalo group earlier endorsed the candidacy of Senator Manuel “Manny” Villar Jr., despite the fact that he is part of the senatorial slate of the Liberal Party (LP) of Senator Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” Aquino and the Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) of former President Joseph Estrada.

It was recalled that Lim issued a statement in which said he respects the Magdalo’s support for Villar’s candidacy even if it runs counter to his own choice. He, however, failed to disclose who between Aquino and Estrada he will vote for.

Aquino’s spokesperson, lawyer Edwin Lacierda, said the LP respects the decision of General Lim, adding that the decision of the Magdalo soldiers will not affect the detained general’s membership in the party and in its senatorial slate.

He added that the LP need not convince Lim to support Aquino, unlike the Magdalo soldiers’ group that claimed it will withdraw support from Villar if the “unholy alliance” between the Nacionalista Party’s standard bearer and Malacañang proves to be true.

“If only our Magdalo friends keep their eyes open and their ears listening, they will realize that the actuations of Villar and Malacañang are enough proof to convince them. Villar’s involvement in the C5 controversy, the Norzagaray and Iloilo land-grabbing cases, and his endorsement of Jocjoc Bolante in his local bid, all speak for itself,” Lacierda claimed.

According to Paje, Lim decided to keep silent about his choice of president in deference to the Magdalo’s decision, and his standing with the LP and PMP.

“He wants to respect the decision of the Magdalo group and also respect the endorsements of presidential candidates to his senatorial bid. He wanted to keep his choice to himself in deference to the people around him,” Paje said in an interview during the LP’s rally-cum-concert commemoration of the 24th EDSA People Power 1 at the Araneta Coliseum the other day.

Paje added that Lim’s decision to remain silent about his choice is also intended not to affect his standing with the LP, whose sorties his wife Aloy and daughter Aika have been attending to campaign for him.