Lakas-CMD eyeing alliance with Sara Duterte’s party

Surigao del Sur 1st Dist. Rep. Prospero Pichay Jr. INQUIRER PHOTO/LYN RILLON

The Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD) political party will work towards building an alliance with Davao Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio’s Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP) regional party, a Lakas-CMD official said on Monday.

Deputy Speaker and Surigao del Sur 1st District Rep. Prospero Pichay, Jr. bared this in a press conference, saying “We’ll pursue that direction, definitely.” Pichay is the senior vice president of Lakas.

“Well, ang Lakas naman it’s an old party so we’ll try to recruit for members both for national and local officials and we’ll see what’s going to happen,” he also said.

READ: 9 political parties – 3 national, 6 local – forge alliance with HNP

Pichay’s statement came days after the presidential daughter’s HNP had forged an alliance with three national parties — Nacionalista Party (NP), Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) and National Unity Party (NUP) — and six other local parties.

READ: Sara Duterte, Imee Marcos forge 9-party alliance 

Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was the leader of Lakas-CMD before she transferred to PDP-Laban in October 2017.

Although Lakas is not convincing Arroyo to return to the party, Pichay said he was sure that “her heart is with Lakas” because “she became President under that party, she only became Speaker under PDP-Laban.”

PDP-Laban is the ruling Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan, President Rodrigo Duterte’s party.

Lakas’ possible senatorial bets

Pichay meanwhile named former senatorial candidate and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez and former Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla, Jr. who is currently detained for plunder, as two of their possible bets for the 2019 senatorial elections.

Romualdez is the president of Lakas while Revilla is chairman.

“A few candidates maybe, 2 or 3 and maybe adopt some candidates. But they haven’t decided yet, former congressman Martin Romualdez maybe, we can even tap also Bong Revilla,” Pichay said, as he dismissed any plan to run for Senate.

“Me, I prefer to be a congressman,” he said. /je