BACOLOD CITY?Radicalism versus conservatism.

This, according to Rep. Mark Cojuangco, was the main cause of the friction between the Nationalist People?s Coalition (NPC) and its erstwhile presidential aspirant, Sen. Francis ?Chiz? Escudero, who bolted the party.

Cojuangco, son of business tycoon Eduardo ?Danding? Cojuangco Jr., said in an interview here on Thursday that Escudero took a radical position on some key issues in which the NPC preferred a conservative stand.

Two of the issues were the legislated P125 wage increase and the proposal to condone billions of pesos in debt incurred by farmers under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).

The young Cojuangco said Escudero was treated ?fairly and squarely? in the NPC but he wanted the party to decide more quickly on certain matters.

In particular, Cojuangco said Escudero strongly supported a legislated P125 wage increase while the NPC was concerned it might cause the collapse of businesses.

Danding Cojuangco, who founded the NPC when he ran for president in 1992, chairs the giant conglomerate San Miguel Corp., one of the biggest employers in the country.

In a statement, Escudero said the government had failed to protect the rights and welfare of workers.

?The Philippine Constitution recognizes the importance of labor and mandates that the state shall protect workers? rights and promote their welfare. But the sad reality is that workers do not receive their fair share,? he said.

The present minimum wage varies per region, but Escudero said the common denominator is that all regional levels fall far short of a daily living wage.

Mark Cojuangco also said while Escudero strongly pushed for measures to condone farmers? debts under CARP, the NPC wouldn?t want to take a stand on this until an inventory of the debts had been taken.

Farmers who benefited from CARP received land from the government which they paid for in fixed amortization schedules to the Land Bank of the Philippines.

But CARP has a provision that allowed landowners, who didn?t want to chop up their estates, to avail themselves of the stock distribution option.

Instead of distributing land, landowners issued certificates of stock to farmer-tenants. Farmers pay for the stocks in regular amortization schedules.

Danding Cojuangco is one of several landowners who had availed themselves of the stock option program. The Cojuangco family branch of the late President Corazon Aquino had also availed itself of the stock distribution program for its vast Hacienda Luisita estate in Tarlac.

Mark Cojuangco said Escudero?s departure from the NPC forced the party to return to the drawing board, although its officials would definitely field Sen. Loren Legarda as its vice presidential candidate.