Arroyo party sapped by mass defection
About 40% may have left, Zubiri estimates
By Michael Lim Ubac
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 00:35:00 11/19/2009
MANILA, Philippines — As much as 30-40 percent of the ruling Lakas-Kampi-CMD may have decamped, and the ranks of the Liberal Party (LP) and Nacionalista Party (NP) are swelling at the administration party’s expense.
That candid assessment was made Wednesday by Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, the ruling party’s vice president for Mindanao, who explained the defections of erstwhile Palace allies to the LP and NP as “betting on the winning horse” in the May 2010 polls.
“Probably 30-40 percent of the party … has already left,” Zubiri said. “Well, you know, as we say in politics, for everyone that leaves there’s always an open door for somebody to come in.”
Some 600 officials in administration bailiwicks nationwide took their oath Wednesday before NP standard-bearer and president Sen. Manuel Villar.
Among them were Davao del Sur (1st district) Rep. Marc Douglas Cagas, Zamboanga City (2nd district) Rep. Erico Basilio Fabian, Batanes Vice Gov. William Agsunod and Mayor Lino Madchiw of Banaue, Ifugao. (Cagas is the son of Gov. Douglas Cagas, who has earlier defected to the NP.)
Leading the latest batch of LP recruits are Quezon City Mayor Feliciano “Sonny” Belmonte Jr., the former Lakas-Kampi-CMD vice president for external affairs, Vice Mayor Herbert Bautista, and the mayor’s daughter, Joy Belmonte.
They are to be sworn in Thursday at the Amoranto Multipurpose Hall in Quezon City before Senators Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III and Manuel “Mar” Roxas II, the LP’s presidential and vice presidential hopefuls, respectively. (Roxas is also the LP president.)
‘Trimming excess fat’
According to Lakas-Kampi-CMD deputy secretary general Ray Roquero, the ruling party’s members are expected to jump ship after failing to secure its endorsement for their planned candidacies.
“We are trimming excess fat,” Roquero said. “[But] these are minor setbacks, and we can easily assemble a formidable cast to challenge the other parties. We will put up a good fight in Quezon City and other parts of the country.”
Zubiri told reporters that the former Palace allies had to brace themselves for the polls in their respective jurisdictions.
“Many of [the defectors] are thinking about their political survival. Of course, they want to be with the winning horse. They want to bet on the winning horse,” he said.
Zubiri said he expected the number of defectors to opposition parties to rise until Dec. 1, the last day of the filing of certificates of candidacy.
NP and LP stalwarts said many administration allies were just awaiting the release of the last tranche of their pork barrel for the year before taking off.
No surprise
Belmonte, a third-term mayor, is seeking a seat in the House of Representatives.
He will back Bautista’s mayoral bid, and his daughter Joy will run for vice mayor.
Roquero said Mayor Belmonte’s break from the administration did not pose a surprise even if it came just two days after former Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ralph Recto and his wife, Batangas Gov. Vilma Santos, announced that they had joined the LP.
“It’s because Joy already moved to the LP. Of course, it’s expected that he would follow. The daughter is like an advance party,” Roquero told INQUIRER.net.
Besides, Roquero pointed out, Belmonte chaired the Government Service Insurance System during the term of the late President Corazon Aquino.
“It’s a regular thing that happens during elections. Until the last day of filing of certificates of candidacy, there are those who will still leave and join [other parties],” he said.
‘We want change’
Even in Davao del Norte, top officials have deserted the ruling party.
In a move seen as a big blow to the “weakening” administration bloc in Southern Mindanao, Davao del Norte Gov. Rodolfo del Rosario Wednesday led six mayors, two board members and dozens of town, city and village councilors in pledging allegiance to the LP.
Del Rosario said the alignment with the LP was a result of “the decision of the group, and not of a single individual.”
“We want change,” he said.
Roxas, who presided over the swearing in of Del Rosario and other senior provincial officials, expressed gladness that Davao del Norte officials had decided to “join [the LP] for change in government.”
He said the LP was expecting more defections from Lakas, but added that it would not accommodate outright those from other parties.
Among those sworn in were Tagum City Mayor Rey Uy and Antonio Rafael del Rosario, the governor’s son.
“My son has something to do with my decision to leave Lakas and join Senator Noynoy’s group,” the governor said, adding that his son was one of the first to back Aquino’s planned run for the presidency.
The governor—who is among Lakas’ original members—also said the “groundswell of support” for the Aquino-Roxas tandem had also influenced his decision to move to the LP.
In Compostela Valley, Gov. Arturo Uy shrugged off the move of his former party mates.
Governor Uy, the elder brother of Tagum Mayor Uy, said he was still supporting Lakas-Kampi-CMD standard-bearer Gilbert Teodoro.
“But we’re not closing doors. Our group is also entertaining possible movements to other parties, those groups with more qualified candidates,” the governor said.
“If we will decide to leave Lakas, then we will choose between the LP and NP. Both parties have the firepower needed for the elections,” he said.
At the historic Laurel House in Mandaluyong City, which his family now owns, Villar told reporters that the mass swearing in of over 600 new NP recruits further widened the party “membership base and grassroots influence.”
‘Partners in struggle’
“We welcome you to the Nacionalista Party as our formidable partners in our struggle against our people’s enemy, which is poverty,” Villar told the new recruits.
Among them was Maria Flor Querubin, the wife of detained Col. Ariel Querubin.
The detained officer, a Medal of Valor awardee who is facing charges of mutiny in a military court, will make an announcement at month’s end when he leaves the military and joins the political arena, according to NP officials.
Villar noted that all 29 towns of Cagayan—a bailiwick of Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, with an overall voting population of over 500,000—were represented in the new recruits.
Also sworn in were Board Members Wycoco Abraham, Washington Taguinod and Ramon Gelito, a number of vice mayors including Rizal Rodriguez and Dextero Obrique, 51 councilors and 66 aspirants.
Former Vice Gov. Jestoni Alarcon, who will run for Congress in the second district of Antipolo, also took his oath along with incumbent officials of Rizal.
Nat’l convention
Lakas-Kampi-CMD holds its national convention Thursday at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City.
Zubiri said he did not expect President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to raise the hand of standard-bearer Teodoro during the convention.
Still, he expected Teodoro’s ratings to rise.
“There’s nowhere else to go but up. Can you still go lower than 2 percent?” Zubiri said, referring to the latest Pulse Asia survey on presidential preferences in which Aquino maintained his No. 1 slot and Villar came a far second.
Zubiri said he would stay with the ruling party:
“I know it’s very convenient for us to change parties at this time, but commitment, loyalty, still play a key factor. For me, it’s character development. If you see a politician changing parties frequently, can you depend on him?
“I’d like to stick it out, win or lose [with Lakas]. And besides, it gives you an opportunity to be more independent in the next Congress.”
Originally Posted by necrotic freak
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