Pampanga party shifts support to GMA

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga — A local party founded by former Justice Minister Estelito Mendoza has withdrawn its support for presidential candidate Fernando Poe Jr. of the Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino (KNP) to back President Arroyo in the May 10 elections.

"It’s now an alliance between the Buklod Kapampangan (BK) and the K-4 (administration coalition) as far as the presidential race is concerned," said Aurelio Gonzalez, who is running for provincial board member under the BK banner in Pampanga’s third district.

Mendoza, one of the lead counsels of former President Joseph Estrada in his Senate impeachment trial, founded the BK in 1987.

The local party, now chaired by Arayat Mayor Benigno Espino, has remained active since then, fielding candidates in local elections.

In a press briefing here yesterday, Gonzalez said BK leaders decided to shift their support from Poe to Mrs. Arroyo "as a matter of courtesy to a president who is a fellow Capampangan."

Initially, the party announced that it was throwing its support behind Poe.

Gonzalez, however, said that while the BK is now supporting Mrs. Arroyo, it continues to campaign for the victory of Sen. Loren Legarda, Poe’s running mate, in the vice presidential race.

He said the BK has not yet decided who among the senatorial candidates of the K-4 and the KNP it would support.

"Our surveys indicate that it’s going to be an Arroyo-Legarda victory here in Pampanga," Gonzalez said, pointing out that Legarda has funded many projects in Pampanga, while her chief rival, Sen. Noli de Castro, has not.

Meanwhile, Luis Espino, who is running for mayor of Arayat and is a nephew of the BK chairman, said the party has also decided to support K-4 gubernatorial bet Mark Lapid, son of Gov. Lito Lapid, a senatorial candidate of the administration coalition, and his vice gubernatorial running mate, basketball coach Joseller "Yeng’ Guiao.

This developed amid reports that the influential Pineda clan of Lubao, Mrs. Arroyo’s hometown, has withdrawn its support for Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) gubernatorial bet Rep. Zenaida Ducut in favor of Mark.

The Pineda clan, headed by Bong Pineda, has dominated Lubao politics for many years. Pineda’s son Dennis is now seeking re-election as Lubao mayor, while his wife, Lilia, who had served as mayor for three consecutive terms, is a senior provincial board member.

Also running for governor is Rep. Juan Pablo Bondoc, also of the NPC. All three gubernatorial candidates, however, are supporting Mrs. Arroyo.