Estrada’s opposition party invited to political summit

Members of the ousted President Joseph Estrada’s Partido ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) have been invited to the first Political Summit scheduled to be held on May 3-5 at the Manila Hotel.

The list of political party-participants released by the summit’s organization committee yesterday includes PMP.

Others in the list are the ruling Lakas, the opposition Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP), Nationalist People’s Coalition, Liberal Party, Nacionalista Party, Reporma, Aksyon Demokratiko, Kilusang Bagong Lipunan, Partido Demokratiko Sosyalista ng Pilipinas and Kabalikat ng Masang Pilipino (Kampi).

Kampi is the political group President Arroyo founded in 1998 when she was still a senator. Her first recruit was fellow Sen. Vicente Sotto III, fueling speculations then of an Arroyo-Sotto tandem in the presidential elections in May of that year.

Arroyo eventually dropped Sotto and became the vice presidential running mate of Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr., who was Lakas standard bearer.

De Venecia, together with Sen. Edgardo Angara, who heads the opposition LDP, is organizing the Political Summit.

Other groups invited to the conference are regional and party-list organizations represented in the House of Representatives. These include the Cebu-based Alayon, Bayan Muna, Akbayan, Butil, Citizens Battle Against Corruption, and Association of Philippine Electric Cooperatives.

The summit will tackle six topics: Escaping the Poverty Trap; Enhancing Social Order and Security Through Law Enforcement, Diplomatic Cooperation and Fair Delivery of Justice; Mobilizing Civil Society Participation for Better Governance; Promoting the Welfare and Development of Our Muslim and Indigenous Peoples for Nation Building; Improving National-Local Bureaucracy for Effective Public Service; and Strengthening Institution through Constitutional and Electoral Reforms.

Its theme is, "Modernizing the Political Institution of a Democratic and Prosperous National Community."

De Venecia said the three-day dialogue will try to come up with a unified economic and political agenda and a vision for the country.

He said the party system should be strengthened. "While governments come and go, political parties remain as the mechanisms for the peaceful transfer of power and as instruments of development," he added. – Jess Diaz