New party just a formality, says House leader

MANILA, Philippines—The National Unity Party composed of allies of former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo merely formalized their support for President Aquino and the leadership of the House of Representatives as they had been supportive of the government’s reform agenda, Iloilo Representative  Niel Tupas Jr. said Saturday.

Tupas, a member of the President’s Liberal Party, said the National Unity Party had been voting with the House majority on many issues, including the impeachment of former Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez, the postponement of the August 2011 elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, and other administration bills.

“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 trold the Inquirer. “They are not joining the Liberal Party but the majority coalition in the House of Representatives.”

He said the LP itself has a tedious selection process in accepting new members.

“I don’t think they are joining the coalition for convenience,” Tupas said when asked if he believed this was NUP’s motive in supporting the present administration.

“We have a good relationship with the NUP (in the House). The NUP is with us on many issues,” he added. .

The NUP, which currently counts 32 House members and 18 governors, expects its numbers to rise when some members of Lakas-Kampi Christian Muslim Democrats sign up with NUP by July 25, when the President delivers his State-of-the-Nation Address.

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