Comelec to decide on Lakas-Kampi merger this month, hears JDV petition

MANILA, Philippines - The Commission on Elections (Comelec) will decide on the fate of the merger of Lakas-Kampi-CMD within the month.

This developed as Comelec held its last hearing yesterday on the petition of Pangasinan Rep. Jose de Venecia Jr. questioning the legality of the merger between Lakas and the Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Kampi), the political party founded by President Arroyo in 1998.

De Venecia, one of the co-founders of Lakas-CMD, made a last ditch effort yesterday to point out the illegality of the merger with Kampi since it was not ratified by the national assembly of Lakas-CMD.

Comelec Commissioner Lucenito Tagle said De Venecia and President Arroyo were given five days to submit their respective memorandum that should contain their summary of arguments and evidence.

Mrs. Arroyo, as chairman of the merged Lakas-Kampi-CMD, petitioned the Comelec to accredit the merger in preparation for the 2010 elections.

Lakas-Kampi-CMD secretary general and Presidential Adviser on Political Affairs Gabriel Claudio took the witness stand yesterday as a “hostile witness” for De Venecia.

Claudio said De Venecia was among those who were pushing for the merger with Kampi since 1998 but became cool to the idea after his fallout with Mrs. Arroyo.

Claudio said they made the proper consultation with officials and members of both parties for two years as it was “well covered by the media.”

“The discussion started in 1998 when Jose de Venecia signed merger documents. He, himself, was the prime mover of the merger as early as 1998,” Claudio added.

De Venecia, however, insisted the unification was illegal. He also denied Claudio’s statements that he initiated the merger with Kampi.

The former Speaker said Mrs. Arroyo had “sought the merger, who begged us for the merger between Lakas and Kampi.”

“Because she (Mrs. Arroyo) was begging to be my vice president (in the 1998 elections) I (took her) because she appealed to me several times,” he added.

De Venecia ran for president in the 1998 elections but lost to Joseph Estrada. Mrs. Arroyo, on the other hand, won as vice president.

De Venecia admitted he was in favor of the merger but stressed it has to be done properly, correctly and legally.

“But what they did was to force the (merger) without any consultation,” he said.

‘A dictatorship’

De Venecia also criticized the proclamation of Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro as the standard bearer of the Lakas-Kampi-CMD.

De Venecia said the proclamation of Teodoro has no legal basis, pointing out the pending legal question on the merged party.

He likened the proclamation of Teodoro by the Lakas-Kampi-CMD to the supreme policy-making body of the former Soviet Union.

“This is worse than the communist dictatorship, worse than the (Soviet) politburo,” he said.

Party officials, on the other hand, defended the selection of Teodoro and insisted there was nothing illegal about it.

Claudio said the selection of Teodoro was merely the first step of “a two-stage process.”

“No election law or rules of the Comelec were violated. What was held (Wednesday) was not a political convention but a consensus building exercise to preliminary indicate a clear preference and consensus leading to Secretary Teodoro’s formal nomination at the proper time,” Claudio said.

He said Teodoro would be presented before a national convention to ratify and validate the endorsement of the national executive committee that voted for the defense chief.

Speaker Prospero Nograles also insisted the selection process violated no election law, pointing out other political groups – such as the Liberal Party on Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino’s pronouncement to run for the presidency – also made the similar efforts.

“Why pick on us? We violated nothing. Compare this now with other political parties with declared candidates like the Club Filipino gig of the Liberal Party,” Nograles remarked.

Election lawyer Romulo Macalintal also pointed out the gathering of Lakas-Kampi-CMD last Wednesday that chose Teodoro as the standard bearer of the party is not electioneering.

Macalintal said the opinions made by Comelec legal chief Ferdinand Rafanan that Lakas conducted a political convention in choosing Teodoro is erroneous.

“Attorney Rafanan’s opinion on Lakas meeting is wrong. The meeting was authorized under Section 79 of the Omnibus Election Code as these are mere acts to enhance the chances of aspirants in a political convention in due time,” Macalintal said. – With Paolo Romero, Delon Porcalla, Edu Punay