Power struggle hits Poe’s KNP

Midway through the campaign period, the machinery of the opposition Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino seems to have bogged down as KNP officials are reportedly locked in a power struggle to control campaign operations.

Sources within the KNP said that the Partido ng Masang Pilipino (PMP), led by its president Horacio "Boy" Morales, and the group of Sen. Vicente Sotto III and Sen. Tessie Aquino-Oreta of the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP) are fighting over management of the campaign for the May elections.

Sources said the group led by Morales was spreading negative reports among coalition officials and even to KNP standard-bearer Fernando Poe Jr. and his wife Susan Roces on how Sotto and Oreta are running the campaign.

The source said Morales and the rest of the PMP leaders have asked deposed President Joseph Estrada, the party founding chairman, to intercede in the PMP wing’s behalf.

The KNP is composed of the LDP, PMP, the PDP-Laban, and a faction of the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC).

The PMP reportedly complained their local candidates are deliberately being left out in endorsements and proclamation rallies.

It was not clear whether Estrada interceded in securing the endorsement of PMP bets but the source said Oreta on several occasions managed to explain to the former president the need to follow the KNP "selection process."

The PMP officials reportedly felt dismayed that the KNP local candidates are dominated by the LDP.

Another KNP official disclosed that Morales’ camp has been approaching some disgruntled leaders and members of Poe’s campaign staff in an effort to convince them to join the PMP in case they take over the campaign operations.

The source said Morales and his group felt disheartened over how the campaign is being run.

Morales reportedly pointed out the floundering campaign strategy of the KNP, citing the alleged mismanagement by the two LDP senators.

According to Morales, the source said, their campaign efforts are being rendered useless because Poe has not made any headway in the recent survey ratings.

The recent surveys still indicate President Arroyo is neck and neck with Poe. Mrs. Arroyo managed to catch up with the popular actor in the survey ratings during the recent weeks of the campaign.

Sources said Morales and his group had pushed KNP senatorial candidates Amina Rasul-Bernardo and Ma. Elisa "Boots" Anson-Roa into filing a petition against Mrs. Arroyo before the Supreme Court.

The two KNP senatorial candidates urged the Supreme Court to declare the incumbent President resigned or on leave following her filing of certificate of candidacy in seeking a full six-year term for the May 10 elections.

Rasul and Anson-Roa filed the petition even as Poe was reportedly against the move, the source said.

"What they’re doing is unfair to Senator Sotto and Senator Oreta," the source said. "It’s not helping the campaign."

Morales, however, could not be reached for comment.

Poe’s spokesman, Sorsogon Rep. Francis Escudero, admitted there was some degree of infighting in the KNP but stressed this is normal in any political organization.

Escudero maintained the KNP fares better as an alliance of political parties compared to the administration coalition Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats, which has fielded more than one local candidate in many areas in the country.

Escudero said the executive committee has an arbitration panel that decides on which local candidate should be proclaimed by the coalition.

He said the committee also decides on any problems that crop up during the campaign.

"The KNP executive committee meets every week and Senator Sotto and Senator Oreta and representatives of parties and the PMP attend them and I don’t see them quarreling," Escudero said.

But sometimes, minor disagreements cannot be avoided, Escudero said.

He pointed out that even private groups such as Freedom, Peace and Justice Movement and the Fernando Poe Jr. for President Movement wanted an active role in the campaign operations. "These (disagreements) are normal," Escudero said.

Estrada’s son, KNP senatorial candidate Jinggoy Estrada, denied any power struggle within the coalition.

"We work and act as a team," Estrada said, dismissing reports of power struggle in the KNP as "just talks."

Re-electionist Manila third district Rep. Harry Angping, who is supporting Poe’s candidacy, said infighting cannot be avoided because so many personalities and groups want to support the movie star during the campaign.

"Many would want FPJ (Poe) to appear in their meetings, or endorse their programs, or pass by their towns, but they cannot all be accommodated and they have to pass through the process (of the KNP executive committee)," Angping said.