JDV: Lakas not yet dead but now a small force

DAGUPAN CITY ,Philippines  - Former House speaker Jose de Venecia yesterday said the Lakas-Kampi-CMD party is not yet dead but has indeed become a small force.

De Venecia was reacting to the statement of Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez who said that the political party is apparently on the decline, with party officials resigning and local members joining other political parties.

"What they (members) should do is to become pure again by disengaging from the merger," De Venecia said, citing his and former President Fidel Ramos' disengagement from Lakas "for as long as former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was a principal force in the party."

The former speaker said he and Ramos questioned the merger of Lakas-Kampi which they said was illegal.

But because of the vast influence then of Mrs. Arroyo on the Supreme Court the merger was sustained, said De Venecia who resigned as president of Lakas two years ago.

He said he is saddened by the development but that as founding chairman of the International Conference of Asian Political Parties, his concentration now is how to mobilize these forces to lead in the battle against corruption, poverty, climate change and extremism.

De Venecia likewise said he remains optimistic that Lakas will soon regain its strength.

He added that at this point, the Liberal Party is a force to reckon with in Philippine politics because it has President Aquino as chairman and has significant following in the Senate, House of Representatives and among local officials.

Meanwhile, at least 1,640 political leaders of Lakas in Nueva Ecija bolted the party last Thursday and joined the LP.

The political leaders, many of whom were barangay officials, took their oath before Rep. Joseph Violago, the LP's chairman for the second congressional district. – With Manny Galvez