Comelec hears JDV petition on Lakas-Kampi merger

MANILA, Philippines - The Second Division of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) will hold a final hearing today on a petition to merge Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD) and the Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Kampi).

But Comelec commissioner Nicodemo Ferrer, who heads the Second Division, said it does not necessarily mean that the agency would rule on the merger today.

“We have to study this thoroughly. I’m not sure when we can issue a ruling,” he said in a telephone interview.

Ferrer noted that Presidential Adviser for Political Affairs Gabriel Claudio had been subpoenaed to appear as a “hostile witness” in the hearing to shed light on questions about the legality of the merger.

Last July, Lakas-CMD-Kampi filed a petition for accreditation and unification before the Comelec but former Lakas president and former House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. questioned this.

De Venecia’s camp claimed that the merger did not have the permission of the Lakas plenary as mandated by the party’s by-laws and constitution and asked the Comelec to summon Claudio to explain.

But in the “Covering Automated Elections and Campaign Finance” seminar of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism in Subic Freeport recently, political analyst Lito Banayo predicted that the merger would not materialize even if the Comelec rules in favor of the unification.

Banayo said De Venecia could elevate his petition to the Supreme Court where it could drag on until the 2010 polls. 

De Venecia also questioned the decision of the merged Lakas-Kampi to choose Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno as its standard bearers in next year’s elections.

“They cannot yet do that because they are not a registered political party. They are still seeking accreditation from the Comelec, and as of now, they are a bogus party,” he told The STAR.        – With Jess Diaz