CEBU, Philippines - House Speaker Sonny Belmonte said that they are still working on the local level with the recent coalition of LP-NP-NPC.
“At the local level, we are still working at it,” said Belmonte in a press conference after he delivered his speech as guest speaker of the 14th Supreme National Congress of the Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines yesterday.
In a separate press conference, former Las Piñas Rep. Cynthia Villar said that there will be a local problem among those who will be running under the coalition but as far as the national level is concerned, there is no problem.
“Local politics is different. It is very emotional. While ang coalition naman is for the senatorial candidates. Walang problema sa taas but at the local level, hindi mo maiiwasan na may problema talaga but they (coalition leaders) are working on it to minimize the problem,” said Villar, a three-term congresswoman from 2001-2010.
Villar, whose husband, Senator Manuel Villar heads the Nacionalista Party, said that she does not care who will compose the newly formed coalition as long as four NP senatoriables are included in the coalition.
The four are Senators Antonio Trillanes and Allan Peter Cayetano, Surigao del Norte former Governor Robert Ace Barbers and her.
“Wala kaming pakialam kung sino pa ang makakasama namin under the coalition. Ang importante, pasok kaming apat,” said Villar, who then served as chairperson of the Congressional Spouses Foundation from 1998 to 2000 and has served as president of the Senate Spouses Foundation, Inc., from August 2006 to December 2008.
Earlier, the House Speaker dubbed the recently-formed coalition as a “coalition of giants”.
In a separate press statement, UNA secretary-general Rep. Toby Tiangco said that coalition of the LP-NP-NPC is really a David against Goliath, not only in terms of numbers but also in terms of resources, since government resources are at their disposal.
“All politics is local. The local candidates will be the ones to deliver the votes for the national candidates. We will not sacrifice our local leaders and candidates just to achieve the perception of national strength through sheer number,” Tiangco said.
“We will not hurry up. We could have collateral benefit from those who will be unhappy with the arbitration of the LP-NP-NPC, assuming that we don’t have leaders who are interested. But if we do, we will always give priority to those who have worked hard for us in the past,” Tiangco further said. (FREEMAN)