Comelec rules Lacson, FPJ both legal LDP bets

Formalizing the split within the largest opposition party in the country, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) ruled yesterday that actor Fernando Poe Jr. and Sen. Panfilo Lacson are both official candidates of the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP).

Voting 5-2, the Comelec officially recognized both the LDP wings of Sen. Edgardo Angara, which is supporting Poe, and of Makati Rep. Agapito "Butz" Aquino, which is supporting Lacson.

Citing "legal equity," the Comelec also affirmed both wings’ right to a copy of election returns in the May 10 elections. The poll body ruled that copies of all odd-numbered certificates of canvas be given to the Angara wing while even-numbered ones will be turned over to the Aquino faction.

The Comelec recognized all candidates nominated by both wings of the LDP. It said they will also be entitled to election watchers and other representatives to any election committee that may be created by the poll body.

But the Angara wing, which filed the formal petition before the Comelec on Dec. 24, slammed the ruling and said the party will elevate the matter to the Supreme Court where it can "be properly resolved now that the Comelec has abdicated its independence."

LDP-Angara wing spokesman Miguel Romero charged that the Comelec reached the decision at the prodding of Malacañang.

"The decision did not resolve the issue and only created further confusion," Romero said. "We clearly see the hand of Malacañang in the decision. This Palace maneuver seeks to sow division within the LDP."

LDP legal counsel Demaree Raval maintained that the Comelec’s decision was a "grave abuse of discretion" and claimed that the Comelec misread the party’s constitution and by-laws.

Raval explained that the LDP constitution provides that only the party chairman, in this case Angara, could endorse the certificates of candidacy for the presidential and vice presidential candidates of the party.

"Rep. Agapito ‘Butz’ Aquino cannot make that endorsement as secretary general of the party. He can only do so if he is empowered by the party chairman," Raval said, quoting from the party’s by-laws.

Raval said the Aquino wing consists only of a handful of LDP members who were suspended by Angara and that "99 percent of party members support Angara."

"Fifteen out of the 16 regional party chairmen and majority of LDP members, including the national executive committee, have publicly announced and demonstrated their support for Angara’s leadership," Romero said.

"The ruling portrays the opposition is in disarray when it is not. Malacañang stands to benefit from this and its hand is very evident in the Comelec decision," Romero stressed.

Comelec: Settle Your Dispute

But the Comelec, in its ruling, refused to rule on the dispute that rankled the LDP since Poe announced his presidential bid on Nov. 23.

The Comelec said "internal matters and wrangling are purely for the party members to settle among themselves, any unsettled controversy should be brought to the proper forum with jurisdiction."

The ruling stemmed from Angara’s Dec. 24 petition asking the Comelec to recognize only the party nominations signed himself or his duly authorized representative.

Aquino contended that Angara can no longer be an official signatory because he had been "suspended for acts allegedly inimical to the LDP."

But, in its ruling, the Comelec recognized Aquino’s authority to nominate Lacson although the party by-laws specifically designated Angara, as party chairman, as the official signatory of party nominations.

The Comelec ruled that Aquino was authorized by the LDP national congress to sign nominations and that that authority had not been revoked or recalled.

In a television interview, Aquino expressed hope that the LDP could finally settle the dispute so it could agree on a common ticket for the May 10 elections.

Earlier, the Angara wing joined other opposition groups in forming the Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino (KNP) which presented an 11-member senatorial ticket. The Aquino wing does not have a senatorial slate or even a vice presidential running mate for Lacson.

Wide-spectrum representation was apparently a main consideration in the selection of the KNP senatorial ticket with candidates being drawn from camps identified with the last four administrations.

The KNP’s senatorial line-up include re-electionist Senators Aquilino Pimentel Jr. and John Henry Osmena, former senator Juan Ponce Enrile, Francisco Tatad and Ernesto Herrera, former Manila mayor Alfredo Lim, former National Youth Commission chairwoman Amina Rasul, former presidential adviser Jamby Madrigal, and Rep. Didagen Dilangalen of Maguindanao.

Only Enrile, Lim, Rasul, Madrigal amd Dilangalen filed their certificates of candidacy with Poe. Osmena and Pimentel had already filed their certificates earlier.

The Comelec expects about 450,000 candidates to contest more than 12,000 national, local and congressional posts on May 10 — from the president to municipal leaders. Filing of certificiates of candidacy ended last Monday, and the 90-day campaign period for national candidate starts Feb. 10.