JPE: LAMP has all but flickered out

"The LAMP has flickered out."

This was how Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile described the once-mighty Lapian ng Masang Pilipino (LAMP) in the wake of EDSA people power II, the popular revolt that unseated the party’s titular head, Joseph Estrada.

LAMP was a coalition of three parties — Partido ng Masang Pilipino, Lapian ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP) and the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) — which carried Estrada to the presidency in 1998.

The party dominated the House of Representatives and the Senate after a stream of Lakas-NUCD party members bolted to support the administration of Estrada.

LAMP was already preparing its lineup for the May elections when its members in Congress began bolting to the united opposition after Estrada’s impeachment trial started last Dec. 7.

But Enrile said with the ouster of Estrada and the defection of Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado, who is president of PMP, LAMP has practically ceased to exist.

What remains of the party are the stragglers from the NPC and LDP who are trying to regroup and regain strength for the May 14 congressional and local elections.

Because of the recent developments, Enrile said he is now thinking of abandoning his re-election bid for the Senate and running for the congressional seat in his district in Cagayan province.

"Considering that there is no political party in place where I can run, I see no point in exposing myself and whatever resources I have," Enrile said.

With LAMP’s imminent demise, the party’s stragglers have began sending feelers to join the Partido Demokratikong Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) as candidates for their localities in the May election.

Senate President Aquilino Pimentel Jr. said the PDP-Laban has been receiving applications from congressional and mayoral aspirants in various parts of the country.

"We are screening applicants to ensure that only those who are committed to uphold the principle of the party are admitted," Pimentel said.

The Senate president said he would not allow balimbings (turncoats) to seek refuge in PDP-Laban just to improve their chances of getting elected.