Koko leaves UNA as senatorial bet in 2013

Manila, Philippines -  After weeks of agonizing over the prospect of cozying up to a former political foe he has accused of cheating in 2007, Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III finally announced yesterday his decision to bolt the newly established United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) of former President Joseph Estrada and Vice President Jejomar Binay.

Pimentel made the decision after failing to persuade the UNA leadership to drop former senator Juan Miguel Zubiri from its list of senatorial candidates in next year’s midterm elections.

Pimentel took over Zubiri’s slot in the current Senate four years after evidence of cheating in the 2007 elections started to unravel in the Senate Electoral Tribunal.

Estrada’s Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino and Binay’s PDP-Laban have joined forces under UNA to field a common senatorial slate in next year’s elections.

In trying to push for Zubiri’s removal from UNA’s senatorial slate, Pimentel said he dreaded the thought of campaigning side by side with an election cheat and former ally of former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Another Arroyo ally, Rep. Mitos Magsaysay, is also in UNA’s senatorial slate.

“I cannot run as senator under UNA because of the situation that I would be running alongside the person who took away four years of my term as senator,” Pimentel said.

Pimentel said he personally informed Estrada about his decision during a two-hour meeting at the former president’s house in San Juan yesterday.

He said he arrived at the decision after extensive consultations with family and his fellow PDP-Laban party members and supporters.

“I told him, ninong patawarin mo ako (forgive me, godfather),” Pimentel said, referring to Estrada.

“He understood my decision. I said you always tell me to forgive and forget so I know that he will accept my decision and he said yes,” he added.

Pimentel explained that he would remain as president of PDP-Laban and that his decision would not affect the coalition between the party and PMP.

“I plan to find out if there will be any legal problems. We will go through the coalition agreement word for word. But when I read the coalition agreement, I believe that there would be no problem. It is not a merger. We did not lose our identities,” Pimentel said.

When the Commission on Elections approved the registration of the coalition, Pimentel said that it only meant that UNA would be treated as a political party for the 2013 elections.

He said his decision was a personal one and would only result in the removal of his name from the list of official senatorial candidates of UNA.

“That was my promise to President Estrada, that with my withdrawal as an UNA senatorial candidate, I would not question or disrupt the coalition between PMP and PDP-Laban so only I would be affected here,” Pimentel said.

Pimentel said that he has also informed Binay, chairman of PDP-Laban, about his decision through his chief of staff.

Pimentel admitted it would now be harder for him to succeed in his bid for reelection without the backing of the three leaders of UNA, namely Estrada, Binay and Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile who is chairman emeritus of PMP.

“It would have been better if you have the backing of these three powerful personalities with charisma and widespread appeal. You know in a senatorial contest you need a certain percentage to win. I hope that I can still get that. You don’t have to top the elections anyway,” Pimentel said. - with Jose Rodel Clapano