Ensure clean polls, Guingona urges parties

Vice President Teofisto Guingona Jr. called on all political parties yesterday to ensure that "clean and credible elections" will be held in May next year, as they are "indispensable to achieving genuine national reconciliation."

Guingona, who earlier declared he was not running for any elective post, said if the elections are neither clean nor credible, "our tenuous democracy will be imperiled. (It will) doom real reconciliation to the dustbin and distort the nation’s development anew with awesome consequences."

The Vice President warned that if the elections would be marred by fraud, whoever will win in next year’s presidential race will have a difficult time uniting the people and addressing the country’s many problems.

Guingona said that while President Arroyo’s call for reconciliation "has substantial merits," it will be "best to go by stages" in trying to achieve reconciliation "in the wake of the coming political season."

"First, let all political parties agree to work for a clean and credible election in May 2004," he said. "Second, after a clean and credible election, agree to unite behind the chosen leader to face the challenges that confront the nation such as the betterment of the economy, social justice, and reversal of the downslide to poverty."

The Vice President issued the call after the Commission on Elections (Comelec) predicted that next year’s polls may be the most expensive and most chaotic, with 450,000 candidates expected to run for 12,500 national and local positions.

Comelec officials said the large number of candidates means the cost of producing ballots will increase by P350 million to P400 million. For voters, it means more time and effort just to go over the list of candidates.

The filing of certificates of candidacy is from Dec. 15, 2003 to Jan. 2, 2004. National and local positions are at stake in the elections.

Meanwhile, Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats party spokesman Heherson Alvarez said he foresees the defection of more members of various opposition parties to the administration camp as the period for the filing of certificates of candidacy nears.

"While the opposition side has yet to meet, the ruling party is busy reunifying the different political factions at the local levels under the Lakas banner," he said.

Alvarez, who is running for a senatorial post, cited the defection of 11 Bulacan mayors, most of them former members of the opposition party Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP), as a manifestation of the snowballing support for Mrs. Arroyo’s presidential bid.

He also lauded Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas Ople, who was a ranking LDP official, for leading the exodus of mayors in his home province of Bulacan. Ople has also agreed to assume the role of chairman of the Lakas policy advisory council and co-chairman for the party’s Central Luzon chapter.

The Bulacan mayors sworn in as Lakas members include Danny Domingo of Malolos, Felix Ople of Hagonoy, Rolando Salvador of Baliuag, Toti Reyes of Bustos, Jaime Viceo of San Rafael, Elpidio Castillo of Pulilan, Saso Galvez of San Ildefonso, Eduardo Roquero of San Jose del Monte, Santi Sevilla of San Miguel, and Rolando Javier of Plaridel.

Bulacan Rep. Wilfrido Villarama, formerly a member of presidential aspirant Raul Roco’s Aksyon Demokratiko party, was also sworn in as a new Lakas member.

Villarama said he resigned from Aksyon seven months ago and has been independent since then. He was Mrs. Arroyo’s chief of staff when she was vice president and had a falling out with her after he joined Roco’s group.

Last Oct. 6, Ople said Mrs. Arroyo’s decision to run in the 2004 elections has given people a clear choice, contrary to opinions aired by critics. Her decision has "put some order in the chaotic world of Philippine politics," he said.

Ople said he expects to see "a good fight for the presidency," noting that while Mrs. Arroyo is highly favored, Lakas cannot be afford to be complacent.

"She will be running on a good record and an inspiring vision of the future, but the strength of the opposition cannot be underrated," he said.

Ople, who has thrown his support behind Mrs. Arroyo’s candidacy, said foreign policy will be a "strong suit" of the President’s campaign.

"No one has thought more deeply about national security and human security for the ordinary people than President Arroyo," he said.

Mrs. Arroyo enjoys more respect and admiration in the international community than any other president the country has had, according to Ople. "The Filipino nation under her leadership has won universal esteem and respect."

He said the President’s candidacy was received "with great relief" in the international community, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region, because "the prospect of her election with a fresh mandate will enhance the continuity and stability of government policies in Southeast Asia."