Defection to NPC starts: Support for Grace builds up

MANILA, Philippines - More than 150 local officials and lawmakers from the Liberal Party (LP) and other parties have defected to the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), as rumors swirl about the country’s second biggest political party preparing to formally announce its support for the tandem of Sens. Grace Poe and Francis Escudero in the 2016 elections.

New NPC recruits also include former members of the Nacionalista Party (NP), Lakas-Christian and Muslim Democrats and the opposition United Nationalist Alliance (UNA).

The new NPC members were mayors and other local officials from the provinces of Quezon, Batangas, Laguna, Camarines Sur and parts of Metro Manila.

NPC secretary general Batangas Rep. Mark Llandro Mendoza said the “mass defection” to NPC was triggered by the recent formalization of the Poe-Escudero tandem.

“We were surprised because right after Sen. Grace and Sen. Chiz (Escudero’s nickname) made their announcement, many wanted to join the NPC,” Mendoza told reporters.

NPC has yet to officially announce who the party would endorse in the 2016 elections but its officials, led by its president, Deputy Speaker Giorgidi Aggabao, have been saying that a majority of party members wish to support Poe and Escudero.

Mendoza said the NPC, founded by businessman Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco Jr., is currently in talks with other parties, including the NP and the National Unity Party, for a possible alliance.

“We will form a coalition of political parties and decide which candidates we are going to support,” Mendoza said.

He added more politicians are expected to join the NPC once the party makes a decision.

NPC chairman and former Isabela governor Faustino Dy said the party might make an announcement next week on who to support among the presidential candidates.

Aside from Poe, only Vice President Jejomar Binay and former interior secretary Manuel Roxas II have so far announced their bid for the presidency. Binay and Roxas are still looking for running mates.

Among the prominent political leaders who took their oaths as NPC members at the party’s headquarters in Quezon City yesterday were Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando Andaya Jr.

Andaya, a former budget secretary and ally of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, noted that the NPC was the first major political party “to step up to the plate and make itself available to the candidacy of Senator Grace.”

“This is a strong message on where the heart of the party really is,” Andaya said. “A lot of people are supporting Sen. Grace. The message is out there. No need to say it out loud.”

He said Poe’s 20-point agenda – which she presented during her proclamation – reflects her sincerity, seriousness and willingness to deliver.

“The fight is still a long way to go. But when you come into a long campaign and you already have a plan of programs you want to push for on Day 1, it shows your willingness to serve,” Andaya said.

“The rest have long declared their candidacies but they are yet to present an agenda. All we have heard are slogans,” he added.

“The agenda is rooted in experience. They have learned from the administrations (that were in power). This tandem knows that government services should be improved, and that the mistakes of the past won’t happen again. This is a fresh start,” he added.

Also seen at the event was Caloocan City Rep. Enrico Echiverri, a stalwart of the LP. Echiverri, however, declined to categorically say whether he was joining the NPC, saying he was just invited to the event.

Echiverri was one of the first Lakas-CMD members who bolted the party to join the LP in 2009 to support the presidential campaign of then Sen. Benigno Aquino III.