No unity in ‘unity talks’

From all indications, any reference about the May 9, 2022 elections are obviously being toned down as much as possible by many politicians. Even the more visible and more popular candidates gingerly avoid talking about or touch on the topic of upcoming next presidential elections. Much more so among the potential candidates topping the voters’ choices in mock polls and opinion surveys.

This is quite understandable amid the country’s more urgent problems, especially with the resurgence of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Politics supposedly took a back seat while this public health emergency spawned by COVID-19 pandemic surged anew due to more transmissible foreign variants.

Except perhaps for Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson and Senate president Vicente Sotto III who together have already declared their respective intentions to run in tandem as president and vice president (VP), respectively, in next year’s elections.

“No more pretenses,” Lacson quipped during our Kapihan sa Manila Bay zoom webinar last July 28.

As he announced in our weekly virtual news forum, Lacson took his oath the next day as chairman of the revived Partido para sa Demokratikong Reporma to formalize his entry in the presidential race. After joining us in our Kapihan sa Manila Bay, Sotto convened with the top leaders of the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) to inform them of his VP bid.

Even as he is the NPC chairman, Sotto deemed it a party decision to consider who they will eventually field as official candidates in next year’s national and local elections. Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, who also belongs to NPC, confessed he might run for VP. That is, Gatchalian hastily adds, if Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte – touted to run in next year’s presidential race – picks him as runningmate.

Much ahead of Sotto and Gatchalian, it was President Rodrigo Duterte who actually first declared he might run in the VP race. President Duterte admitted this after his own party, the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) adopted a Resolution in their Cebu meeting on May 31 urging him to run as their VP candidate.

It was this Cebu meeting convened by Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi, as vice chairman of PDP-Laban, that opened wide the intramurals within the ruling administration party. In retaliation, the PDP-Laban faction led by Senators Manny Pacquiao and Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, “acting” president and executive vice chairman, respectively, expelled Cusi’s group last month. As the nominal chieftain of the PDP-Laban, President Duterte, however, upheld Cusi’s group.

In the general assembly of the PDP-Laban held last July 26, Cusi’s faction instead ousted Pacquiao. Speaking that day before their PDP-Laban partymates, the President declared: “To the proposition that I run for vice president, medyo (somehow) I’m sold to the idea.” But may indeed run for VP only if, he added: “The President that will win must be a friend of mine to whom I can work with.”

Loyal allies from Davao City rooted for President’s daughter Mayor Sara who has been consistently topping mock polls in both the presidential and VP surveys. However, Mayor Sara has repeatedly shot down the rumored “Duterte-Duterte” tandem. Meanwhile, Mayor Sara’s own regional party Hugpong ng Pagbabago, entered into coalition agreements with various national political parties.

To date, five of them signed up coalition agreement with Hugpong. These were, namely: Nacionalista Party (NP); Lakas-CMD; National Unity Party (NUP); Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino; and, the People’s Reform Party. The same political parties entered into coalition agreement as well with the PDP-Laban during the May 2019 mid-term elections.

As of this writing, PDP-Laban has strongly indicated it will be ready to field their own tandem when they hold their convention this Sept. 8. The newly installed 15-member National Executive Council of the Cusi-led PDP-Laban unanimously approved last week a resolution endorsing Senator Christopher “Bong” Go for president with President Duterte as VP runningmate. Concurrently serving as special assistant to the President, Sen. Go admitted he is willing to run for president only if President Duterte agrees to become his VP runningmate.

The Pimentel bloc of the PDP-Laban, on the other hand, have been grooming Pacquiao to become their party’s presidential standard-bearer. However, Pacquiao’s political fate somehow depends on if he wins – or not – his welterweight championship boxing match slated on Aug. 21 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Lacson disclosed he and Sotto had initial talks with Pacquiao. He did not go into details. They are just waiting for Pacquiao to return next month – whether the boxer-Senator wins or loses in Las Vegas. For now, Lacson and Sotto are working out possible “alliances” with political parties led by Reporma and the NPC and possibly soon Aksyon Demokratiko party.

At this stage, Sotto cited, it is way past the deadline of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) for political parties to enter into “coalition” agreements. Sotto explained an “alliance” arrangement is the better mechanism to forge a “unity” ticket among political parties to battle with the administration juggernaut in next year’s elections.

In fact, it was in our Kapihan sa Manila Bay where Lacson first revealed he and Sotto had sit-down talks already with Vice President Leni Robredo for possible “unity” ticket of all opposition parties in next year’s elections. VP Robredo is the nominal chieftain of the Liberal Party (LP) which is the dominant opposition.

After VP Robredo’s camp confirmed the meeting indeed took place, Lacson subsequently revealed they failed to win them over to the proposed “unity” alliance among opposition groups. Lacson got the impression VP Robredo “resisted” the idea because she has not totally ruled out a presidential run.

As long as no one yields, there will be no unity even in the “unity talks” among the opposition ranks wanting to end the reign of the Davao City Duterte dynasty in the works.