Lakas vs Kampi in local polls

Four days before the deadline for filing certificates of candidacy for local positions, the two biggest political parties of the administration coalition are fielding their respective candidates against each other.

A top administration official admitted the political rivalry between the ruling Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD) and the Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Kampi) could adversely affect the chances of Team Unity senatorial candidates who are relying heavily on the support of local officials in the delivery of votes.

The official said the two political parties continue to field their respective candidates against each other for local positions, defying an agreement to respect the equity of the incumbent.

Worse, other political parties in the administration coalition are also fielding their own candidates against incumbent officials, the source said.

Apart from Lakas and Kampi, the ruling coalition includes the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), Liberal Party (LP), Nacionalista Party (NP) and the Partido Demokratiko Sosyalista ng Pilipinas (PDSP).

There have been efforts to address the problem by declaring "free zones," the official said.

Several provinces and vote-rich cities in the country have been declared as free zones, enabling Lakas, Kampi and other political parties belonging to the ruling coalition to field their own candidates, resulting in a political free-for-all, with the opposition also joining in.

The so-called free zones include vote-rich provinces such as Agusan del Norte, Batangas, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan and Western Samar.

In Bulacan, provincial board member Joselito "Jon-Jon" Mendoza of Kampi is being pitted against Philippine International Trading Corp. chairman Roberto Pagdanganan of Lakas.

Mendoza is the brother of incumbent Gov. Josie de la Cruz while Pagdanganan served as Bulacan governor until 1998.

Pangasinan Rep. Amado Espino of Kampi will run against incumbent Vice Gov. Oscar Lambino of Lakas and Dr. Jamie Agbayani, wife of outgoing Gov. Victor Agbayani of a local administration party, for the gubernatorial post.

In Batangas, Lipa City Mayor Vilma Santos of Lakas would run against reelectionist Gov. Armand Sanchez of Kampi.

In Agusan del Norte, former governor Valentina Plaza of Lakas is challenging incumbent Gov. Earlpe John Amante of Kampi.

The same is true in Nueva Ecija where Vice Gov. Mariano Cristino Joson of Kampi is reportedly running against Rep. Aurelio Umali of Lakas.

It will be a three-way fight in Western Samar as far as coalition candidates are concerned.

Incumbent Gov. Mila Tan is facing Rep. Reynaldo Uy of the Liberal Party and Rep. Catalino Figueroa of Lakas.

Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel Arroyo belongs to Lakas and was adopted by Kampi while another presidential son Diosdado "Dato" Arroyo is a full-fledged Kampi candidate for congressman in Camarines Sur.

Raiders of the lost party

The reported rift between Lakas and Kampi came out in the open at the start of the election period.

Lakas officials accused the Kampi leadership of party raiding.

Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno, Kampi president, denied the allegations by pointing out it was erstwhile Lakas members themselves who decided to join because of the alleged infighting in the ruling party.

Puno earlier boasted of having 67 members in the House of Representatives, with 23 governors and 650 out of the 1,610 mayors in the country.

Lakas spokesman Heherson Alvarez, however, claimed those who reportedly joined Kampi did not renounce their membership in Lakas and have not formally taken oath as new members.

A top Malacañang official revealed President Arroyo has ordered Kampi against raiding Lakas and keep the administration coalition intact.

The official told The STAR that Mrs. Arroyo issued the warning during a high-level arbitration meeting with leaders of the administration coalition in Malacañang almost three weeks ago.

"The President told Secretary Ronnie Puno and (Camarines Sur) congressman (Luis) Villafuerte to stop offering inducements to members of other coalition partners to beef up their ranks," the official said.

"The President also made the same warning to the other party officials present but it was obvious that her statement was directed to Kampi," the official added.

He said Puno and Villafuerte just merely nodded after Mrs. Arroyo made her statement.

He said a similar warning has been aired by former President Fidel Ramos, chairman emeritus of Lakas, in various meetings with local officials.

The official explained Kampi should not be considered a political party on its own since it has merged with Lakas in 1998.

No less than Mrs. Arroyo led Kampi in signing the agreement with Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. for Lakas.

The agreement was witnessed by then President Ramos as national chairman of Lakas.

Mrs. Arroyo is currently the national chairwoman of Lakas.

She was the original founder of Kampi, the party that was launched for her presidential bid in the 1998 elections.

The President, however, agreed to run as vice presidential candidate under Lakas with De Venecia as the standard bearer. De Venecia lost the fight but Mrs. Arroyo won the vote.

For his part, Presidential Political Affairs Adviser Gabriel Claudio also brushed aside reports of party raiding and its possible effects on the chances of Team Unity.

Claudio said the ruling coalition will be fielding candidates in all local elective posts to maintain its dominance.

Claudio assured though the Team Unity candidates will get the votes from the local campaign machinery on election day.

"There is no place in the Philippines that Team Unity will have no campaign machinery. So Team Unity candidates are assured of support in every city, municipality, district and province," he said.

While there would be some free zones, Claudio said none of the administration bets "would be quarreling and they have agreed among themselves that they will run under the banner of the coalition."

"Let’s highlight the positive here. All are running under the administration banner," he said.

Claudio also said the ruling coalition has agreed to field "common candidates" or just one candidate supported by all the six political coalition partners in about 75 percent of provinces and congressional districts while the rest will be "free zones" where more than one administration bet will be aiming for elective posts.

"It is now almost a certainty that winning candidates for governor, vice-governor, mayors and congressmen, will be administration," Claudio said.

He explained the fielding of a common candidate is one way of "living up to its theme of unity and assuring the consistency and coherence for support for programs of reform of the Arroyo government."

Since Mrs. Arroyo got a fresh mandate in 2004, Claudio said support of local government units for her administration has been consistent.

The opposition, on the other hand, could field candidates for only 30 percent of the total local posts, Claudio said.

He claimed the opposition has been "adopting just about anybody" just to be able to field a candidate.

Out of the 216 congressional districts up for grabs, 172 would be contested by common candidates while there would be 58 common gubernatorial candidates for 81 provinces, he said.

Claudio said the percentage would more or less be the same for the city and municipal levels.

Lakas would be holding its national convention on April 2 while other administration parties would also be holding similar meetings in the coming weeks.

The dominant opposition

As this developed, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said they will determine next week the dominant minority political party entitled to secure the sixth copy of the election returns on May 14.

Comelec Commissioner Resurreccion Borra said the Comelec will make the announcement on March 29, which is also the last day of filing of the certificates of candidacy for local elective positions.

He said the Comelec has to check out the extent of influence of political parties on the local level to determine who among them should be the dominant minority entitled to receive the sixth copy of the returns on election day.

Borra said the minority party can be determined by the number of local candidates fielded in along with the number of incumbents seeking re-election and their current political affiliations.

"That is one of the criteria: number of incumbents, number of candidates to be fielded. So these are the two remaining information that we have to satisfy," he said.

Borra though assured that in the interest of fairness, Comelec has agreed the dominant minority party will come from the opposition coalition.

"The consensus in the commission is that when you talk about dominant majority, that is the administration. Dominant minority, that is opposition —to balance. It is not good that both the dominant majority and minority would be in the same administration," he said.

Aside from being entitled to a copy of the election returns, a dominant minority party has the privilege of offering a clear alternative to the electorate, Borra explained.

Borra noted the apprehensions that Kampi would be named as dominant minority party despite its affiliations with Lakas.

Comelec chairman Benjamin Abalos earlier assured the sixth copy of the election returns would be given to opposing political parties and not to any of coalition partners.

The fifth copy of the election returns will be given to Lakas as the dominant majority party.

Abalos said that in order to determine the dominant minority party, they would have to be the second largest opposing political party that has the equal number of incumbent elected local officials.

Under the law, the Comelec is mandated to determine which party should be identified as the dominant majority and the dominant minority, based on the number of party members that were elected during the last elections. -with James Mananghaya