UNA willing to adopt administration bets

MANILA, Philippines - Vice President Jejomar Binay’s United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) is open to adopting senatorial candidates belonging to political parties set to enter into a coalition with the pro-administration Liberal Party (LP).

In a television interview, Navotas Rep. Tobias Tiangco, UNA secretary-general, said among them are Senators Francis Escudero and Loren Legarda of Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) and Alan Peter Cayetano and Antonio Trillanes IV of Nacionalista Party (NP).

UNA appears to have lost many of potential senatorial candidates to the planned coalition among the LP, NPC and NP, he added.

Tiangco said now that the four would apparently run under the pro-administration coalition’s slate, UNA would have to decide whether to adopt them in its senatorial ticket.

He would raise the issue in the next meeting of UNA’s leaders, who include former President Joseph Estrada and Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, he added.

Tiangco said he agreed with Estrada, who has accused the planned three-party administration coalition of “pirating” UNA’s candidates.

 “I don’t want to use the word ‘pirate,’ he said.

“What I can say is that they have been eyeing, they have been getting our candidates. If they can get Nancy Binay, bilib na ako sa galing nila (then they’re really good).”

Nancy Binay, a daughter of the vice president, will run for senator under UNA.

Another Binay daughter, Abigail, is a Makati lawmaker, while son Junjun is Makati mayor.

Tiangco said if UNA decides to stick to Enrile’s statement against the adoption of common candidates, “we can still complete a 12-member ticket.”