Bongbong disowned by KBL after alliance with Villar

MANILA, Philippines - Ilocos Norte Rep. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., namesake and only son of the late dictator, has joined the Nacionalista Party (NP)of presidential aspirant Sen. Manuel Villar.

Marcos’ inclusion in the NP senatorial lineup came with the party’s forging of an alliance with the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan, a party founded by his father in the last years of his regime. KBL officials clarified that Marcos has long resigned from the KBL and cannot speak for the party.

“For too long now, vested interests have benefited by highlighting what divides us. It is the classic divide-and-conquer strategy. They focus on individuals and what separates them instead of focusing on what they can do together. This has to change,” Villar said during the formal launching of the coalition at the Laurel House in Mandaluyong City.

“What will make us great as a nation is our ability to acknowledge our differences, what will make us fail is our failure to celebrate that diversity,” he added.

 ‘Real’ KBL disowns Bongbong

 “Bongbong Marcos cannot speak for the KBL because he already resigned as party member in 1987 because of the nomination of the one Joselito Cayetano for senator which he (Bongbong) wanted to withdraw but the party refused,” Vicente Millora, who claims to be KBL chairman, told reporters during the Balitaan news forum in Quezon City.

“Only the KBL national directorate may represent the Party,” Milliora said.

He, however, clarified that former first lady Imelda Marcos continues to be the honorary chairman of the party.

Difficult decision

Marcos admitted he had difficulty making the decision because he had to consider his relationship with former President Estrada, a longtime family friend, and his godfather, businessman Danding Cojuangco, who is the chairman of the Nationalist People’s Coalition.

“These are harried times that demand painful decisions – a choice between friends and allies, amongst those who have borne the fight of the opposition throughout the years,” Marcos said.

“But today we have come at last to our decision, after much consultation and debate within our political family. And we choose for our president, the honrable Manny Villar of the Nacionalista Party,” Marcos said.

Asked why he chose the NP rather over the Liberal Party whose top candidates were survey favorites, Marcos and his sister, KBL secretary general and former congresswoman Imee Marcos, said they believe that the country can move forward with Villar at the helm.

“We have great belief in Sen. Manny Villar and we believe that he has solutions to the problems in our country. We believe that he will bring back prosperity in our country, bring leadership and vision back to Malacañang,” Marcos said.

“And not only does he understand the underprivileged, he started life with so little, just like the ordinary Filipino,” he said.

“The coming polls should no longer involve those who passed away, but should focus on the candidates themselves, according to their qualifications and fitness for public office,” Imee said, apparently referring to her late father.

More than two decades after the ouster of the strongman, Ilocos Norte has remained a bailiwick of the Marcos family.

Poverty issues

Marcos and Villar agreed that the issue at hand is poverty and not the impact of the Marcos regime.

“We don’t agree on everything but the foundation of our candidacies is service to others,” Marcos said in Filipino.

“The administration can’t say that it’s working for the poor because it has brought poverty to the Philippines,” he added.

Villar, meanwhile, cited a survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations in September showing that 53 percent of Filipinos or more than nine million Filipinos have experienced hunger.

“This is basically the same number of people who have experienced hunger when the SWS conducted its first hunger survey in 1983,” he said.

“It is clear therefore that for 26 years our fight against poverty has basically failed,” Villar added.

New perspective

Villar also said the 2010 elections are not just about removing a hated regime but understanding what the next administration can offer.

“The 2010 election is also not just about changing the person sitting as president. That is important, of course, given our dissatisfaction with the current administration. But it has to mean more than that. Let us not commit the mistake of voting simply to oust a person without understanding what the one who will take its place offers,” Villar said.

It was an apparent dig at Liberal Party standard bearer Sen. Noynoy Aquino and his running mate Sen. Manuel Roxas II, who are reportedly capitalizing on the bad image of the Arroyo administration in their campaign.

“The problem lies in the inability of some of us to go beyond those differences and focus on the task at hand: to fight poverty,” Villar added.

Rethinking stand

Left-leaning party-list groups are rethinking their “impending” support for NP’s Villar.

Rep. Satur Ocampo of Bayan Muna made the statement a day after indicating in a Quezon City news forum that he and his militant colleagues would most likely back Villar’s presidential quest.

He said the announcement made by Marcos of an alliance between KBL and NP has made them rethink their support for the NP presidential candidate.

“We must first know the terms of the NP-KBL alliance, of which we had not been informed beforehand by Sen. Villar. We have laid down clearly with him our outstanding issues with the Marcoses: compensation for human rights victims and recovery of ill-gotten wealth,” he said.

He said militant groups would not compromise these issues.

“Should the NP-KBL alliance compromise our stand, we’ll review our impending support for Sen. Villar,” he added.

In announcing the NP-KBL alliance, Marcos said he would be in Villar’s senatorial ticket as a guest candidate.

On Thursday, Ocampo, who is eyeing a Senate seat, hinted in a news forum that Bayan Muna, Gabriela, Anakpawis, Kabataan, and Makabayan, a broad coalition of militant organizations, would most likely support Villar.

He dropped the hint a day after he and some colleagues had a dialogue with Aquino and LP leaders.

“They told us that they have only two to three remaining slots in their senatorial ticket and that the list of applicants is long,” he said.

By contrast, Ocampo said Villar has a standing offer for NP to accommodate two party-list representatives.

He said he would discuss with his colleagues the offer and would announce their decision next week.

Aside from Ocampo, Rep. Liza Maza of Gabriela is eyeing a Senate seat.

Bayan Muna, Gabriela, Anak Pawis, and their youth organization Kabataan have a combined eight seats in the House of Representatives. They claim to have a voter base of three million.

In the latest Pulse Asia survey, Ocampo did better than two of Aquino’s senatorial choices. He obtained a rating of five percent, placing him in the 32-47 ranking.

Former Bukidnon Rep. Nereus Acosta received a rating of 1.7 percent (48-65 ranking), while Rep. Risa Hontiveros of Akbayan obtained 3.9 percent (36 to 55).

Acosta and Hontiveros, together with Rep. Teofisto Guingona III, also of Bukidnon, are assured of slots in the LP senatorial ticket.

The same survey showed Aquino leading Villar by a wide margin, 44 percent against 19 percent.

Meanwhile, Villar expressed hope that the militant groups will maintain their support for him and the party after forging of alliance with Marcos.

“I hope everything will be threshed out soon. What we are fighting here is the fight against poverty. We should work, and not allow certain differences to divide us because we are still starting,” Villar said in an interview.

Shrugs off Jinggoy’s decision

Villar also said he respects the decision of Senate President Pro-Tempore Jinggoy Estrada not to join the NP and to withdraw his signature on a proposed Senate Resolution seeking to clear Villar of breach of ethics charges in connection with the C5 Road extension project.

Villar said he was not taking it against Estrada if he changed his mind.

“In fact, our slate is not final yet. I respect the decision of Sen. Jinggoy. He has considerations. I have high regard for him. We are finalizing the slate,” Villar said.

Estrada sent Villar a letter, explaining his decision to withdraw his signature from the resolution.

Estrada said he felt bad about the breach of confidentiality when the resolution was prematurely released. He said he was worried about the repercussion of the resolution’s release on his relationship with Senate president Juan Ponce Enrile, who is chairman emeritus of the Pwersa Ng Masang Pilipino.

“There are speculations that the senators (12 including Villar himself) who signed the resolution received P10 million each, that is not true…What’s at stake here now is my credibility and I have my own political party, Puwersa ng Masang Pilipino, with no less than my father, President Joseph Estrada, as presidential candidate,” Estrada said. – Christina Mendez, Aurea Calica, Perseus Echeminada, Jess Diaz