November 18, 2009, 6:05pm
The Liberal Party has dealt the ruling Lakas-Kampi-CMD another major political blow by attracting to its fold Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr. who will lead majority of the city’s elective officials in a mass oath-taking ceremony as new LP members Thursday.Aside from stealing Belmonte from the ruling party, the LP mass oath-taking at Amoranto Stadium will also attempt to steal the media limelight from Thursday’s Lakas-Kampi national convention which will nominate former Defense Secretary Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro and actor Edu Manzano as its presidential and vice presidential bets.
Belmonte is a member of the Lakas-Kampi national executive committee that made preparations for the convention during a meeting in Malacañang last week. He held posts as vice president for external affairs and chairman of the Quezon City chapter of Lakas-Kampi.
Sen. Francis Pangilinan, a former QC councilor who was instrumental in the negotiations for the city’s Lakas-Kampi exodus, revealed that his close friend, Vice Mayor Herbert “Bistek” Bautista, will join Belmonte and is expected to run as city mayor in the May 10, 2010 elections.
Belmonte, who is ineligible to run for mayor after serving three terms as the city’s chief executive, is reportedly set to return to his old post as congressman of the fourth district.
LP insiders said Belmonte will be among the party’s bets for the House speakership, and will be pitted against his former political ally, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo who is widely expected to seek a congressional seat in her native Pampanga.
Pangilinan said the LP is setting up a strong local machinery in voter-populated QC that will ensure victory not only for its local candidates but also for the party’s national tandem of Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III for president and Sen. Manuel “Mar” Roxas for vice president.
Before Belmonte and Bautista made the decision to join the LP, it was Pangilinan who was being pushed by barangay leaders of QC to run for mayor.
The lawmaker, who was a consistent outstanding councilor awardee in the city, turned down the petitions as he cited his close friendship with Bautista.
Former Secretary Michael Defensor of the Presidential Management Staff was also named as a possible LP bet but negotiations between the LP and the Defensor camp fell through.
Two weeks ago, Belmonte’s daughter, Joy, joined the LP but the mayor defended the move at that time as totally unrelated to his position in Lakas-Kampi.
He said his daughter, who will be paired with Bautista as vice mayoralty bet, had every right to join the LP because she is not a member of any political group.
Belmonte and Bautista decided to give up Lakas after Pangilinan paid the top QC executives a visit last week.
Belmonte became the second top Lakas-Kampi stalwart to bolt the party and join LP. Last week, Batangas Gov. Vilma Santos and her husband, former economic adviser Secretary Ralph Recto, switched parties to back the Aquino-Roxas tandem in 2010.
Before this, Santos turned down offers for her to run as vice president of Teodoro.
Source: http://mb.com.ph/node/230114/lp-net
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