Show us, Palace dares new party

Malacañang on Saturday called on members of a new party that has expressed support for President Benigno Aquino III to actually back his reform agenda.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said the administration welcomed the support of the National Unity Party (NUP) made up of once-staunch allies of former president and now Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

“Well, this is a welcome development because I see that they are already part of the majority coalition in the House of Representatives,” Valte said.

“And we will see if they would really give their support to the reform agenda of the President. We hope to see it translated (into action) over the coming days,” she added.

Valte said it wouldn’t be difficult to support the President’s 16-point social contract with the Filipino people and his programs of government, “if we’re really concerned [about] the country.”

Congress is expected to start deliberations on the proposed P1.8-trillion national budget for 2012 when it resumes its session later this month.

Among the NUP’s leaders were Arroyo’s defenders against repeated attempts to impeach her in the House during her term. They include Nueva Ecija Representative Rodolfo Antonino, Palawan Representative Antonio Alvarez, Cebu Representative Pablo Garcia and Cavite Representative Elpidio Barzaga.

On Saturday, Iloilo Representative Niel Tupas Jr. said the NUP had merely formalized its support of President Aquino and the leadership of the House as the new party had been supportive of the administration’s reform agenda.

Tupas, a member of Mr. Aquino’s Liberal Party, said the NUP had been voting with the House majority on many issues, including the impeachment of Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez, postponement of the elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, and other administration bills.

He said the support started when Mr. Aquino came into office.

“As far as the Liberal Party is concerned, this is a welcome development in the sense that a big bloc of NUP has been supportive of the President’s (legislative) agenda,” Tupas said.

“They are not joining the Liberal Party but the majority coalition in the House,” Tupas said in an interview with the Inquirer.

“I don’t think they are joining the coalition for convenience,” he added.

The NUP, which counts 32 House members and 18 governors on its roster, expects its number to rise when some members of Lakas-Kampi Christian Muslim Democrats sign up by July 25 when Mr. Aquino will deliver his State of the Nation Address (Sona).

The NUP was formed early this year mostly by former Lakas-Kampi members who wanted to dissociate themselves from their previous patron, Arroyo.

“The NUP was created not for political convenience but for the development of the different congressional districts, according to one of its members.

Representative Benhur Salimbangon of Cebu’s 4th district pointed out that President Aquino needed everyone’s support.

“We are the representatives of the people in our respective districts and in my district (4th dist., Cebu), Mr. Aquino won by a wide margin. He has the support of my constituents in my district so the people expect me to also support him,” Salimbangon said.

He also admitted he would be seeking the President’s support for his pending bill that seeks to declare his entire district as an economic zone and a tourism destination. With reports from Cynthia D. Balana and Jhunnex Napallacan, Inquirer Visayas