‘Angara suspension from LDP is fiction’

The opposition Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino said yesterday the suspension of party president Sen. Edgardo Angara by an LDP committee was a "pure fiction."

In a statement, LDP spokesman Miguel Romero said the suspension was a "non-event within the party and the party’s leadership, where consensus are arrived at and where decisions are made."

"It was almost imaginary, almost surreal," Romero said.

Romero also said the suspension made by party secretary general Agapito "Butz" Aquino will not derail the effort of the united opposition to field actor Fernando Poe Jr. in the 2004 presidential elections.

Angara had earlier said he will not recognize the suspension order, calling it a "juvenile act."

Aquino announced Friday that a party committee has decided to retroactively suspend Angara for "acts inimical to the party."

He said the suspension, which took effect Dec. 15, will be in force until the committee wraps up its investigations on the allegations against Angara.

Aquino explained that under the LDP constitution, it is his duty as party secretary general to instill discipline with the concurrence of the chairman. Angara placed the Makati lawmaker under "indefinite suspension" after he led the "illegal" proclamation of Sen. Panfilo Lacson as the presidential bet of the LDP.

But since the chairman himself is the object of the complaints, Aquino said he can impose such measures in "emergency situations."

Angara and Aquino represent the two warring factions within LDP, stemming from their different choice for standard-bearer in the 2004 elections. Angara is a known supporter of Poe Jr. while Aquino is backing Lacson.

The suspension stemmed from the complaint by Iloilo Rep. Rolex Suplico and Palawan Rep. Abraham Mitra who moved for the expulsion of Angara from the party for alleged "acts of disloyalty and dictatorship."

Both lawmakers joined a number of LDP stalwarts in accusing Angara of insisting to support the candidacy of Poe , a non-LDP member, as the party standard-bearer.

Without mentioning Poe, Angara earlier made a manifestation before the Commission on Election (Comelec) that the official opposition candidate should be endorsed by himself as LDP president and Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino (KNP) leaders.

Angara told Comelec that Aquino had no power to exercise his powers as party secretary general because he has been placed on "forced leave of absence."

The Comelec said Thursday that it will keep its hands off the intraparty dispute and appealed for both sides to break the stalemate.

Yesterday, Comelec Chairman Benjamin Abalos asked the feuding LDP leaders to patch up their differences, warning they might end up losing their accreditation as the dominant opposition party in next year’s elections.

Representatives from the LDP factions met with Abalos earlier Wednesday during which both sides agreed on a "status quo" and promised to submit a manifestation within five days.

"If we don’t receive it (manifestation), then we would not be able to accredit any candidate filing under LDP," Abalos said. "Then we will just treat them as independent candidates."

Even as opposition leaders viewed Abalos as an appointee of President Arroyo who would naturally become the beneficiary of the "divided" opposition, the Comelec chairman said he impressed upon the feuding LDP leaders that he wants to help them settle their differences for their own party’s sake.

"I could have fueled their conflict at LDP. But I told them, ‘Ayusin n’yo ito’," Abalos quoted himself having told the squabbling LDP leaders.

"It’s not that we’re meddling into their internal party conflict, but whose signature are we going to credit?" he asked. "We have to know the specimen signature."

Abalos explained the Comelec recognizes the LDP as the dominant opposition party which is entitled to have election watchers and furnished copies of official election returns.

He said the Comelec would be caught in a difficult situation if there are two claimants in a single political party.

Malacañang, for its part, had refused to be drawn to the LDP row.

"That’s their internal problem. We would not want to be embroiled in the conflict among the factions of the opposition," Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said.

Aquino rebuked Angara over manifestations he made before Comelec on the issue of the party’s standard bearer.

He said both groups decided to heed the advice of Abalos and agreed to return to "a status quo" and the suspensions issued against Lacson supporters in the party deferred until all the other issues are finally resolved.

Aquino later claimed Angara reneged on the agreement even scolding the emissaries who attended the meeting with them at the Comelec.

Citing his position as LDP secretary general, Aquino said was forced to make a decision to initiate the suspension of Angara for his acts inimical to the party’s interests.

LDP Southern Luzon chairman Laguna Rep. Joaquin Chipeco said only the party’s National Executive Committee has the sole power to sanction the party leader.

Chipeco claimed the suspension could not be implemented since the committee is "100 percent behind Angara."

He said Angara has been representing the "voice and sentiment of the party," to collectively support Poe as the opposition coalition’s presidential bet.

"We deeply appreciate Senator Angara’s effort to stand by this voice and consensus. He has been taking criticism for his unwavering decision to stand by the voice of the party and that is the trait of a true leader," Chipeco said.

He said "the die is cast" since the LDP leadership has decided to support Poe under the genuine opposition coalition.

For his part, Misamis Oriental Gov. Antonio Calingin said Poe is the "Mindanao Consensus" and Angara is merely representing the consensus.

"For Angara’s clear and unequivocal stand for the Mindanao consensus, we are deeply grateful," Calingin said. - With Marichu Villanueva