Zubiri set on joining Erap-Binay coalition party

MANILA, Philippines—Despite protests from Senator Aquilino Pimentel III, former representative Juan Miguel Zubiri said Tuesday it was “just a matter of time” before he formally joined the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) under which he plans to run for senator next year.

Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Zubiri offered to reconcile anew with Pimentel, who missed the first four years of his six-year term after the congressman from Bukidnon was  proclaimed winner of the 12th and final slot in the 2007 senatorial election. Pimentel protested the proclamation and eventually was declared the winner.

“I hope we can now move on from the nightmare of 2007,” he told the Inquirer in a phone interview. “We were both victims here—he failed to start his term and I wasn’t able to finish mine.”

Pimentel’s objection appears to be the only stumbling block to Zubiri’s formal entry to the new UNA coalition, which is part of Vice President Jejomar Binay’s preparation for a planned presidential run in 2016. UNA is a coalition between Binay’s Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) party and ex-President Joseph Estrada’s Partido ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) party.

Zubiri said he had the support of UNA’s top three leaders, namely Estrada, Binay, and Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile.

Asked when he would formally join UNA, Zubiri said: “It’s just a matter of time.”

Pimentel earlier wondered why Zubiri was being considered for the  UNA senatorial lineup when he was not a member of PDP-Laban or PMP.

Zubiri said he had a standing “invitation” to join the PMP. He said he was still “thinking” about the offer “out of my closeness” with Senator Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada, the Senate president pro tempore.

As early as March 3, Zubiri said, he and Binay had been talking about his possible entry into the UNA. On that day, he said, the vice president went to his home province of Bukidnon to discuss their coalition, at least in the local elections next year.

“We’ve been talking,” Zubiri said. “I am very, very thankful for the support of former president Estrada, Vice President Binay, and Senate President Enrile.”

Pimentel earlier expressed his dismay over running with Zubiri under the same UNA ticket. “That’s a big problem. How could I be with the person who deprived me of my four years in the Senate? Certainly, I’m not jumping with joy over this,” he told the Inquirer.

Zubiri said the matter would have to be resolved by an arbitration committee within UNA. He said he was also banking on the “friendship” he had with Pimentel until the 2007 controversy.

“We used to be friends,” he said. “I’ve always extended my hand of reconciliation to him because I’ve always maintained that we were not at fault.”

Zubiri said he would not mind sharing the campaign stage with Pimentel, an awkward thought considering their bitter election conflict. He noted that he, too, used to be at odds with Senator Estrada since he belonged to “the other side of the fence” in the Edsa 2 revolt, which ousted former president Estrada.

“But we were both able to move on and we are now friends,” Zubiri said.