Vice President Jejomar Binay, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and Former President Joseph Estrada
The “Three Kings” of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) are under pressure to address resentments over the inclusion of senatorial guest candidates despite their refusal to join the coalition’s events.
“Some candidates from UNA have reacted saying it is unfair for those who stayed and remained loyal to UNA. I’m sure in our next meeting, that issue will be decided on,” said San Juan Rep. Joseph Victor Ejercito in a text message.
What to do with Senators Francis Escudero and Loren Legarda and the daughter of the late action king Fernando Poe Jr., Grace Llamanzares, is the first major test for the coalition’s leaders—Vice President Jejomar Binay, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, and former President Joseph Estrada.
Their decision on these three guest candidates is expected to set the tone of the UNA campaign for the May 2013 polls.
“We will probably discontinue our support for them. Fair is fair. Both of them are our candidates too. How come (one party) is given more weight? That is not fair,” said Binay during the group filing of UNA candidates last Monday at the Commission on Elections which was snubbed by the three.
Escudero, Legarda and Llamanzares shared the stage with other candidates of President Aquino’s coalition during its bash on Monday morning. The three were apparently toeing the line of the Liberal Party bosses who demanded that they stay away from the UNA gathering as one of the conditions for their inclusion in the Aquino ticket.
“Personally, I think a candidate has to make a choice as to where he or she belongs. It’s either black or white, no gray position. It will be unfair to candidates who remained with UNA,” said Ejercito.
Complicated
Reelectionist Sen. Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan II said that UNA members should just take this issue with a grain of salt, saying that this “complicated situation” was just a symptom of the country’s lack of a political party system.
Honasan said that he decided to join UNA because he believed that it has a more “cohesive” lineup than the administration and that he agreed with its vision to lay the basis for a stronger political party system by making a commitment not only for the 2013 elections but also for the 2016 elections.
In contrast, the LP’s major allies in the coalition—the Nacionalista Party and Nationalist People’s Coalition—are not looking beyond next year’s polls.
Aside from the issue of the guest candidates, UNA’s top brass also has to address the void left by businessman Joey de Venecia who quit the first day of the filing of candidacies.
UNA spokesperson JV Bautista said Wednesday that the coalition has a short list of three names to add to its lineup before the filing of candidacies ends on Friday. He declined to identify them beyond saying that these people had been floated in surveys.
“We will not field a candidate who is not worthy. All the three are principled and none of them is a trapo, a traditional politician. They are all young,” said Bautista.
No hard feelings
He said the party had “no hard feelings” over the eleventh hour pullout of De Venecia, son of former Speaker Jose De Venecia Jr., as the party understood his reasons.
“We understand him from the letter that he wrote. But we didn’t see it coming, because he was one of the most assiduous about getting a slot,” said Bautista.
In his letter to UNA, De Venecia said he has decided to stay in the private sector as he felt he could contribute more through his investments in the business process outsourcing and technology industries rather than in the Senate.
He sent his letter to UNA leaders on Monday morning, just hours before the entire slate was to file their COCs together at the Comelec.
The eight UNA senatorial candidates who have filed their certificates are Honasan, Ejercito, Representatives Juan “Jackie” Ponce Enrile Jr. and Milagros “Mitos” Magsaysay, former Senators Ernesto Maceda, Miguel Zubiri and Richard Gordon and former Tarlac Gov. Tingting Cojuangco. With a report from Tarra Quismundo
Originally posted at 08:10 pm | Wednesday, October 03, 2012