New party of GMA allies to support Noy

MANILA, Philippines - Former members of Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s Lakas-Kampi party yesterday vowed to support President Aquino through the National Unity Party (NUP), a new political party that they recently founded.

In an interview, NUP vice president for external affairs and Dasmariñas, Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr. said they decided to leave Lakas-Kampi and form NUP because they want to back Aquino.

“We want to start a new political party. We will be practically in a (tight) position if we will be staying with Lakas-Kampi and at the same time supporting the administration because most of the members of the minority in the House of Representatives belong to Lakas-Kampi,” he noted.

Barzaga added that NUP believes that the President should be supported since he has been elected by a majority of voters in the May 2010 polls.

“Insofar as the country is concerned, we have always been saying that election is only for one day. Once the elections are over, we have to recognize the choice of the majority. No ruler can succeed without any organization or group of people supporting him,” he said.

NUP has filed a petition for accreditation with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) as a national political party. The party claims to have close to 40 members in the House and many others in the local government units.

The Comelec conducted yesterday the first hearing on the petition, during which Barzaga took the witness stand and gave assurance that NUP is a “pro-active political party with genuine concern” for the Filipino people.

He said they envisioned NUP not to be a “dormant” political party that only becomes active during elections.