MANILA, Philippines ? Can the dictator?s son and activist lawmakers seek seats in the Senate under the same party banner?

Ilocos Norte Rep. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., son and namesake of the late dictator, formally joined on Friday the senatorial slate of the Nacionalista Party (NP), which has also offered slots to Representatives Satur Ocampo and Liza Maza of the militant party-list groups Bayan Muna and Gabriela.

NP standard-bearer and president Sen. Manuel Villar and Marcos of the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL) signed at the Laurel House in Mandaluyong City a ?coalition agreement? formalizing the alliance of the two parties for the 2010 polls.

At the signing, Marcos defended the move to coalesce with Villar, who is engaged in talks with Ocampo and Maza as part of his aim to form ?a united front against poverty.?

Asked how he could run with Ocampo, Marcos said: ?Because we are not the issue. If we were the issue, then we would be on different sides. But the issues now are poverty, employment, health care, foreign relations.?

Contacted for comment by phone, Ocampo appeared surprised.

He said Villar did not inform him beforehand of Marcos? inclusion in the NP senatorial slate, and that he would have to study the terms of the NP-KBL alliance.

?We have laid down clearly with MV (Manny Villar) our outstanding issues with the Marcoses?compensation for human rights victims and recovery of ill-gotten wealth?on which we cannot compromise,? Ocampo said, adding:

?Should the NP-KBL alliance compromise our stand, we?ll review our impending support for MV.?

Despite differences

Marcos welcomed the prospect of working with activists like Ocampo, who was imprisoned in 1972, the onset of martial law, but escaped two years later and went underground.

?Despite what differences we may have and other things, the main issues we agree on [are] what?s important,? Marcos said.

He pointed out that the NP senatorial slate was composed of representatives of various political groups and sectors in society, and said he did not expect Ocampo or Maza to agree with him on every issue.

Marcos, who was accompanied by his elder sister, former Ilocos Norte Rep. Imee Marcos, said he was bringing to the NP the ?Solid North? composed of provinces in northern Luzon.

?There is a solid north?and they are all here!? he said, drawing cheers and applause from his red-clad supporters.

All hands on deck

Marcos also said the KBL would back Villar, his running mate Sen. Loren Legarda, and ?all those belonging to the senatorial lineup.?

Defending the recruitment of Marcos, Villar said the fight to defeat poverty needed all hands on deck, including even bitter rivals and personalities with divergent political persuasions.

?We in the Nacionalista believe in democracy,? he said. ?What we are fighting is the battle against poverty. If, at the onset, we are already fighting each other, we will not succeed in fighting poverty.?

Answering questions from reporters, Villar said he had cleared the matter first with those concerned, including members of progressive groups coalescing with the NP.

?I will just allow them to declare their positions, so I?m saying that we don?t have a final slate yet. They are all my friends,? he said.

Besides Marcos and the militant lawmakers, the NP is also reportedly talking with detained Col. Ariel Querubin.

Stumbling block

The NP will announce its complete senatorial slate in a national convention to be held on Nov. 29. Villar plans to file his certificate of candidacy on Dec. 1, the last filing day.

Ocampo said the Left?s newly formed Makabayan coalition would seek an audience with Villar to discuss the NP-KBL alliance.

He said it was important that Villar lay down the terms of the alliance because it could ?complicate? Makabayan?s stand on issues concerning the late dictator?s family.

?We cannot compromise on these issues,? Ocampo reiterated.

But he added: ?Although a stumbling block, the KBL?s alliance with the NP will not be the decisive factor in Makabayan?s final decision on whether or not to support Villar.

?We can run as guest candidates of the NP, but not under the NP-KBL alliance.?

Pro-poor platform
Later in a text message, Ocampo said Makabayan could just choose to ?work only with the presidential candidate on the basis of the agreed platform and issues.?

In a speech titled ?Beyond What Divides Us, Towards A United Front against Poverty,? Villar said he forged an alliance with the KBL because of its propoor platform that jibed with the NP?s platform of government, particularly in jointly addressing the ?plague of poverty.?

He pointed out that as of September, more than 9 million Filipinos had experienced hunger in the last couple of months.

Said Villar: ?The Nacionalista Party believes that this is the single most defining issue of the 2010 elections?the fight against poverty.

?I am sure that some will focus on the fact that [Marcos] is the son of the former President. That is not the reason why I think he is qualified.

?I am sure that some will try to revive our nation?s political past that has divided the country. I will not do that. I?d rather look at his qualifications as a public servant.

?As a leader, I am not in the habit of surrounding myself with those who will simply suck up and say yes to my every word. I believe that differences in opinion contribute to sound policy.

?We can disagree, for as long as we are united in a common vision of providing our people with food on their table, jobs that will give them decent lives, and education for their children?s future.?

Marcos said he shared the NP?s core advocacy against poverty, and added that the poor must be empowered in all aspects as a top priority.

Villar template

He noted that Villar?s own rags-to-riches story could be a template to uplift the condition of the nation?s poor.

He also said the NP-KBL alliance was anchored on trust and confidence in Villar?s integrity and leadership harnessed from the latter?s perseverance against poverty.

Asked why he did not choose to align with the Liberal Party (LP), Marcos said: ?We believe [that] Senator Villar has the solutions to the problems that our country faces. And so this is simply on the basis of who we believe will bring prosperity back to our country.?

But he added that his alliance with the NP did not signify that he was closing the door on reconciliation with the family of Sen. Benigno Aquino III, the LP standard-bearer and the son and namesake of the late dictator?s martyred nemesis.

?Certainly, there is no connection [with] the other. This is a political decision we have made to position ourselves with who we believe [is] the best choice for the upcoming elections,? Marcos said.