Gibo dividing Lakas-Kampi?

LETTERS FROM THE AGNO
March Fianza

Why did Lakas-Kampi-CMD choose Gibo? The question can be rephrased to “Why did Lakas-Kampi-CMD not choose Bayani?”

It is good to find out first if the official declaration of defense Sec. Gilbert Teodoro as standard bearer of the Lakas-Kampi-CMD, followed by a convention by its members is legal. According to the Comelec, the function was in violation of a certain election rule which says that political parties can only do that by October 21, 2009.

Now, if the Comelec says that it is null and void, what party will Gibo represent? Will this mean the original Lakas and Kampi members will have to go back to reorganize their respective parties? Aside from that, there is a petition by former Speaker Joe De Venecia questioning the merger of Lakas and Kampi. It looks like an impending split of a much touted strong party.

But even assuming that Comelec agreed to the merger and that the selection process was legal, party members and ordinary people who support Sec. Teodoro and MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando do not agree on the reasons why the two want to become President of the Philippines . Of course, the two are very qualified and both say that they will do what they think is right for the Filipinos.

Gibo said he has the backing of around 90 congressmen and has the support of governors and mayors that his office through the National Disaster and Coordinating Council has assisted. He has stressed these things in many media appearances which can be one reason why party colleagues chose him.

Bayani countered this, saying that 90 congressmen is only a third of the whole House membership. Other observers like ordinary people in the streets, to include me, know that when the campaign and actual voting comes, the 90 congressmen-supporters will campaign and vote based on their personal interests and the real situation on the ground.

What we are saying is that, in reality, the local candidates may be supportive of their candidate congressman but may not vote or even campaign for the party’s presidential bet. In most cases, the Filipino voter goes for the underdog and the popularly endorsed candidate loses.

Ramon Mitra and Joe De Venecia who had the backing of congress in 1992 and 1998 failed, as Fidel V. Ramos and Erap won, respectively in those elections. In a country where election results depend on the personal needs of supporters, the backing of congressmen for a presidential bet is never an insurance to win.

On peace and order in Mindanao , Gibo talked about giving “no quarters” to terrorists and of course, supports the war that the government waged against its enemies in the south. Although he said, development must go hand in hand with this.

This has been the common solution applied in the past and is being applied again by the present administration, even as the common solution has evolved into a common mistake.

Bayani said he preferred to continue dialogues with the enemies in Mindanao while infusing technology and development in the area. Apparently, he does not want to be on the warpath but chooses more peaceful means in solving the Mindanao problem.

There was a question on insurgency in relation to poverty. In past newspaper accounts, poverty in urban and rural communities has been blamed for the presence of insurgency that many administrations failed to address.

For Sec. Teodoro, he said the presence of government troops must be maintained so that the hard work done to neutralize insurgent elements and the efforts to bring them back to the fold of the law will not be wasted. In short, government soldiers should not leave the communities so that insurgency will not come back. Activists call this militarization.

I prefer to see a community where there are no soldiers, yet insurgency does not rise. Obviously, if insurgency comes back to a certain place, it means that the root cause of it which is poverty has not been addressed. Chairman Fernando, on the other hand, believes that education and bringing technology to the country sides is the answer to insurgency and poverty.

One statement from Gibo made my hair stand on end – that he will support the holding of a constitutional convention if elected to the top post. I pray he is not saying that GMA who can easily win as congressman in Pampanga becomes the Prime Minister. I hope our voters take note of this, including the personal interests of the candidates or the interests of those behind them.

When the two were asked if they favored an increase in the revenue allotment of LGUs, Sec. Teodoro clearly said “no.” Instead, he wanted to raise the revenues so that everyone will have more money but that the funds must have to be controlled by the national government.

For Bayani, he said that LGUs can have additional fund allocations from the national government as long as they can properly manage the money.

To me, Bayani’s proposal in terms of fund allocations is more acceptable than Gibo’s. It has been almost 20 years since the local government code was passed but up to now no truthful devolution of powers as written in the law has been followed.

LGUs at least should have more shares from revenues to balance the absence of true people empowerment. I just hope LGU executives and voters will not forget Gibo’s and Bayani’s statements about sharing national funds come May 2010.

The questions raised by the party members were expected, if not suspect. It seemed as if prior to the convention, everything was already planned by unseen hands. And holding the selection process was done only to show to the public a semblance of neatness and a sense of legitimacy as some quarters had described it.

In the end, media coverage reported what Fernando suspected all along – that Sec. Teodoro already got the endorsement of the national execom although, the party had to go through a process to make things legitimate. In other words, everything that took place last Wednesday was a “moro-moro.”

Thus, it does not surprise me why the self-styled party convention was timed when GMA was out of the country. Who would believe that GMA did not have a hand in choosing the party’s standard bearer and that she would follow whatever is the decision of the party?

GMA had an official trip abroad and could have unintentionally avoided the party convention for fear that she might get the flak for any mistakes. But, it is more believable that whoever is endorsed by the sitting president and head of the administration party becomes the standard bearer. Now, who would go against the will of the President?

Watching the two face each other during the Wednesday ‘selection process’ that the “united” Lakas-Kampi crowed about, I can not bear to see Sec. Teodoro appear as the replica of the people who endorsed him. But Chairman Fernando was a man of his own, maintaining his independent, stubborn character and one who may not necessarily follow the footsteps of this administration.

And so with the latest political development, Lakas-Kampi-CMD members expect to have two or more presidentiables. If that happens, making Gibo their standard bearer only proved one thing – divide and weaken the Lakas-Kampi-CMD party. – marchfianza777@yahoo.com