‘Team Unity convention a tipping point for victory’

Some 10,000 leaders and candidates of the ruling party Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats and their allies nationwide will gather in Manila today in a show of force, which one Lakas-CMD senatorial bet said could be Team Unity’s "tipping point" and the "big push" for victory in May.

President Arroyo, who chairs Lakas; former President Fidel Ramos, party chairman emeritus; and Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr., party president, will lead the party’s convention at the Folk Arts Theater where candidates of Lakas and other administration coalition party-members will be presented.

Party officials said they are holding the convention amid people’s expectations expressed in a recent survey that Lakas is "very capable" of addressing the country’s problems.

The SWS survey showed that the administration party enjoyed the highest trust rating among all political groups.

"The Lakas-CMD, in power from 1992 to 1998, and again from 2001 to the present, has led a reform program that produced the major economic gains the country is now enjoying," said Lakas national executive director Ray Roquero.

"This is because Lakas-CMD has a program of government, it has a vision of what it wants to achieve, and it is powered by leaders and members who believe in the party and its centrist ideology," he said.

He said leaders and candidates of other political parties belonging to the administration coalition, including Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Kampi) and Sen. Edgardo Angara’s Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP), have been invited to today’s convention.

LDP became a member of the ruling coalition when Angara, who had counted himself with the opposition, joined Mrs. Arroyo’s senatorial team.

De Venecia said Lakas "represents the forces of the middle, and this centrist ideology is the anchor of its battle cry in the first decade of the 21st century, which is to create and expand the Filipino middle class."

"Only by creating this middle class can we achieve economic parity with our prosperous neighbors and sustain economic growth that would trickle down to the masses of our people," he said.

On the eve of the ruling party’s convention, Team Unity senatorial candidate Juan Miguel Zubiri said today’s show of force would culminate in the administration’s victory on May 14.

"You can liken it to a parade and review of troops on the eve of a battle. This is the start of the big push, this is the tipping point," he said.

Another administration senatorial bet, Prospero Pichay Jr., said the Folk Arts Theater gathering would make the difference in the May elections.

He said the gathering represents the national machinery that would propel Team Unity to victory.

Zubiri said Lakas alone, with its 10,000 leaders and candidates, could deliver 10 million votes, assuming that each could command a minimum of 1,000 votes.

"But again, that’s a minimal estimate because if you’ll look at it, do you think the likes of Mayor Sonny Belmonte (of Quezon City), Bayani Fernando (of Marikina), Joe de Venecia (of Pangasinan) can deliver only a thousand votes in their respective bailiwicks?" he asked.

According to Lakas officials, the party currently has 2.75 million members throughout the country.

They said their goal is to recruit up to five million members by the end of this year.

Each member enjoys a P110,000 accident insurance, a privilege that is extended to members of other political groups comprising the administration coalition, they added.

Political juggernaut

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, Lakas regional chairman, said the convention "will show that we are strongest and the biggest force that can ensure the continuity and implementation of political and economic reforms as well as anti-poverty programs in the country."

"The tendency of the electorate is to join the Lakas bandwagon because of its sheer size and force," Ermita said. "Team Unity and Lakas candidates have the vision and direction unlike the opposition that only wants to topple the government."

"Lakas-CMD will be in the forefront of fighting poverty, ignorance, injustice, and assaults on the environment," De Venecia told The STAR in an interview later. "Lakas will spearhead the nationwide effort to make the Philippines a titan economy in the region."

He said Mrs. Arroyo, Mr. Ramos and the rest of the Lakas leadership will reiterate their commitment to a "liberal democracy, Christian and Muslim ideology, free elections, free press, free markets and free global environment."

Presidential Adviser for Political Affairs Gabriel Claudio said the administration coalition is fielding candidates in all local positions and a majority of them are from Lakas compared to the GO’s capacity to endorse candidates to only about 30 percent of the elective posts.

He said surveys also showed that mayors, governors and barangay officials have the greatest influence on voters at the community level.

"Lakas’ show of force belies charges by the opposition that the administration will cheat in the elections. When a powerful and committed top-to-bottom national machinery already guarantees victory for Team Unity and administration coalition candidates," Claudio said.

12-0 win predicted

Lakas officials are confident that "in the end, it will be the well-oiled political machinery of the administration that will lock the victory of all the national and local candidates of the ruling administration coalition."

De Venecia forecast that Lakas’ 2.75 million members will bring to victory all 12 Team Unity senatorial candidates.

Of the 12 Team Unity bets, seven are members of the ruling party. – With Paolo Romero