Laban unification talks on

Hopes of reunifying the largest opposition party in the country emerged yesterday after the leaders of the two factions of the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP) started "preliminary" talks to settle their differences.

LDP chairman Sen. Edgardo Angara said he spoke in Zamboanga City with Makati Rep. Agapito "Butz" Aquino, LDP secretary general, on the possibility of holding talks to unite the opposition and ensure its victory in the May 10 elections.

Angara leads the LDP wing supporting the presidential bid of actor Fernando Poe Jr. while Aquino heads the faction backing the candidacy of Sen. Panfilo Lacson.

"Butz and I have started the preliminary discussion and agreed to meet either today (Jan. 7) or tomorrow (Jan. 8) to thresh out points of disagreement," Angara said after attending the necrological service for Zamboanga City Mayor Maria Clara Lobregat.

Angara apparently spoke with Aquino as they were sitting together with Lacson during the three-hour necrological service at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Zamboanga City.

Lacson and Aquino immediately left for Manila on a private plane after the necrological service.

Poe, who is running under the opposition Koalis-yon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino (KNP), also quietly arrived late Tuesday night on board a private plane to attend the wake for the mayor but left unannounced yesterday.

Lacson later told reporters that he is willing to re-start talks with Poe which was cut off at the height of the dispute between the two wings.

"Mr. Poe was at the necrological services but we did not meet," Lacson said. "What was agreed was for us to communciate directly with each other which has not happened."

"The death of Tita Caling (Lobregat) was a unifying factor," Angara said, recalling the eulogy of Msgr. Crisanto de la Cruz who quoted Lobregat as having said only a unified opposition could win the May elections.

"We are responding to that call," Angara said a few hours before Aquino confirmed at the Subic Freeport in Zambales that reunification moves between the Angara and Aquino wings of the LDP are already underway.

"In politics, anything is possible," Aquino told reporters when asked if it were still possible to forge a Poe-Lacson ticket for the elections.

"When we went to the church where the necrological service was held for Tita Caling, fortunately or unfortunately, I was seated with Angara. Angara and I talked and we both agreed that we should not bring this matter too far," Aquino said.

He said they both agreed to start reunification moves by ensuring that both wings of the party will field common candidates at the local level and will try to work up unified tickets up to the national level.

"Angara agreed to designate his own people for this purpose. The unification effort will continue until the elections. Unification is important because we are not battling each other. We are battling the administration," Aquino said.

He said the KNP’s decision to draft Nueva Vizcaya Rep. Carlos Padilla as a senatorial candidate was interpreted as a "goodwill" move on the part of the Angara wing.

"That opened the door. Sen. Tessie Aquino-Oreta’s decision not to run for the Senate was also a good sign," Aquino said, referring to his sister who opted not to seek re-election to the Senate.

The reunification bid came a day after the Commission on Elections (Comelec) ruled that both Poe and Lacson are both official candidates of the LDP.

Citing "legal equity" and voting 5-2, the Comelec also affirmed both wings’ right to a copy of the election returns in the May 10 elections and ruled that all odd-numbered certificate of canvas be given to the Angara wing while even-numbered ones will be turned over to the Aquino wing.

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

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

But the Comelec, in its ruling, refused to rule on the dispute that rankled the LDP since Poe announced —through The STAR — his presidential bid last 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 Angara or his duly authorized representative.

Aquino contends 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 bylaws 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 elections.

Earlier, the Angara wing joined other opposition groups in forming the Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino (KNP) which presented an 11-man senatorial ticket. The Aquino wing does not have a senatorial slate.

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 candidacies ends Jan. 5, and the 90-day campaign period starts Feb. 10.