Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 00:50:00 11/22/2009
Filed Under: Elections, Politics, Inquirer Politics, Eleksyon 2010
MANILA, Philippines--Seriously now, is anyone worried about Bayani Fernando and Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. making a dent on the candidacy of administration standard-bearer resigned Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr.?At least one person in Malacañang claims to be worried.
If the chair of the Metro Manila Development Authority and the former public works secretary formally run for President, they will eat into the votes for Teodoro, said Secretary Raul Gonzalez, chief presidential legal counsel.
“But if they’re going to take away votes from Gibo, they’re also going to take away votes from other candidates,” the legal counsel for Lakas-Kampi-CMD said in a phone interview.
For instance, in Fernando’s bailiwick Marikina City, voters sympathetic to other presidential candidates “will be forced to go” for him, Gonzalez said. “There are pluses and minuses.”
All three are former members of the Arroyo Cabinet, and if they go head to head in next year’s presidential elections, it won’t be surprising if the public thinks the administration is divided, too.
Crossing the Rubicon
“That’s a reality we can’t change anymore. If we cry over spilled milk, what do we get out of it? They have crossed the bridge. To be more classical, they have crossed the Rubicon,” Gonzalez said.
If Fernando and Ebdane run for president, they won’t be helping the administration as Teodoro has remained at the bottom of poll surveys.
“We should accept the reality that they will make a dent on the administration, but I don’t think that will be a major factor,” Gonzalez said. “The whole world knows they are not with the party anymore.”
The Lakas-Kampi-CMD proclaimed Teodoro and his running mate, actor-TV host Edu Manzano, at last Thursday’s national convention at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC).
Party is dissolving
Fernando, still hurting because of the party’s decision of picking Teodoro over him, said on Friday that he no longer considered himself a member of the merged Lakas-Kampi-CMD.
“I do not believe in the party anymore. The party is dissolving. I do not consider myself a member of the Lakas-Kampi-CMD anymore,” he said in English and Filipino.
The MMDA chair also belied claims that he would join the administration’s senatorial slate, saying he knew nothing about his apparent inclusion nor was he given notice.
Fernando stressed he was determined to run for president and that he would be deemed resigned from his appointed post once he files his certificate of candidacy.
Recalcitrant
Gonzalez said resigning would be the “most decent thing” to do for Fernando who insists on his presidential plan in defiance of the party’s position.
“The situation has become [impossible] because he insists on running even if there’s already an administration candidate. How can the party support him? He is a recalcitrant member. The most decent thing to do is resign, which he intends to do, and we should give him credit for it,” he said.
Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said he respected Fernando’s pronouncement that the party was on the verge of dissolving in view of defections by key members to opposition parties.
“I hold our friend Bayani Fernando in very high esteem. We can’t put a price on his sterling record as a public servant. So we only need to understand why he feels bitter toward the party. But the party remains strong,’’ Remonde said over government-run dzRB.
Radical departure
Ebdane, who belatedly tried but failed to join a party meeting in September that led to the nomination of Teodoro as standard-bearer, launched his presidential campaign more than a week ago.
Yesterday, he said he would seek the presidency under the Partido ng Manggagawa at Magsasaka (PMM or the Workers and Peasants Party), noting that it is only the political party that represents the interests of the workers and peasants in the Philippines.
“It is a radical departure from the country’s traditional party politics which, for over 100 years, has been dominated by political groups organized and led by the land-owning class or hacendero, the traders and later, by big businessmen,” Ebdane said.
If he becomes president, the former national police chief said he would push for equitable distribution of wealth among Filipinos.
“We will work for the rights of workers and peasants, adequate government funding for health care and education, and greater participation of unions, NGOs, and POs in all levels of government.”
Lakas-CMD-Kampi officials have said that Ebdane was welcome to join their group, if he wants to run for senator. With a report from Allison W. Lopez
Source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20091122-237677/So-whos-worried-about-Ebdane-BF
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