BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — The Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) is coalescing with the ruling Liberal Party (LP), not for anything else, but to support President Benigno Aquino III.
This was the statement of former Ambassador Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco Jr., founder and chairman emeritus of NPC, in what was considered the first press conference he held in recent years, at the L’Fisher Hotel in Bacolod last Friday.
“We are not coalescing with any party. We are cooperating with the president,” said Cojuangco, who founded NPC in 1992.
“We have an agreement with the president. We worked for him to get elected and I said there is no reason why we should not be with him until the end of his term,” said Cojuangco, who is the uncle of Pnoy, adding that, in his personal assessment, the president is “doing pretty well.”
Cojuangco said: “When the time comes after 2016 when he is no longer president I hope none of you will say ‘oy nagbalimbing na sila, iba na naman ang sinamahan.’”
On Thursday, Valenzuela Rep. Rex Gatchalian, NPC spokesman, said the NPC is sticking with its coalition with LP for the 2013 elections.
Gatchalian denied the statement of NPC Sen. Vicente Sotto III that their party was on the verge of scuttling its alliance with LP over disagreement on the “equity of the incumbent” issue.
He said one reason why the NPC entered into a coalition with LP “is that it fully supports the leadership and vision of President Aquino. We believe that through this coalition, the NPC could be an effective partner of the president and his administration in bringing progress, stability and peace to the country.”
Cojaungco was in Bacolod to settle the issue on the split of Negros Occidental Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr. and Vice Governor Genaro Alvarez Jr., both NPC members, who will be clashing for the gubernatorial post next year.
Cojuangco said the NPC is committed to support the common candidates of LP-NPC coalition, but they have not stopped any of their members to join any party “if they feel at that time that their future is better than our party.”
In Negros Occidental, it is also the same with the United Negros Alliance (UNA) that he founded, which is a local umbrella organization of various national political parties.
Cojuangco, who is considered a “political kingmaker” in Negros Occidental, laughed off the tag given him. “I’ve never created any king (in Negros) that I know of, more so in the Philippines. I just try to help people that I believe in and do my best to help get them elected. That’s all what I’m doing.” he said.
He said further that he does not ask for anything from them in return. “I don’t know of any politician who can point a finger at me and say ‘you help me because you wanted me to do things for you,’” he added. (FREEMAN)