All in NP slate but Ocampo, Maza won't back Marcos

They all belong to the Nacionalista Party (NP) senatorial slate, but militant lawmakers Satur Ocampo and Liza Maza will not be supporting Ilocos Norte Rep. Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s renewed bid for a Senate seat in the 2010 elections. Ocampo and Maza, party-list representatives of Bayan Muna and Gabriela, respectively, categorically issued the statement on Tuesday not to support Marcos, a day after they formally announced they will be running for the Senate under the NP slate which also includes the son of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos. [See: Ocampo, Maza share NP slate with Bongbong Marcos] Marcos Jr. first sought a Senate seat in the 1995 elections but lost. "We respect and uphold the expressed will of our mass constituents not to support Bongbong Marcos' senatorial bid because he echoes his mother’s repeated claim that former President [Ferdinand] Marcos did nothing wrong in his dictatorial rule," Ocampo said. Ocampo was one of the more famous political detainees when the entire country was placed under martial rule by the elder Marcos. To this day, Bayan Muna, Gabriela and other militant organizations belonging to their coalition Makabayan have been demanding for the resolution of human rights violations issues during Marcos' iron rule, as well as the controversy over the Marcos' alleged unexplained wealth. In their statement Tuesday, Ocampo and Maza said they intend to talk with other NP senatorial candidates regarding their platforms on human rights, good governance, and agrarian reform, among others, "except with Bongbong Marcos." "One important aspect of the platform we clinched with Sen. [Manuel] Villar [Jr.] and the Nacionalista Party is the commitment to immediately give justice and indemnification to martial law victims and the full recovery of ill gotten wealth according to law," Ocampo said. The NP had earlier signed a covenant with the Marcoses' Kilusang Bagong Lipunan. But when the alliance fell through purportedly due to internal squabbles within KBL, Ocampo and Maza pushed through with their initial plan to support Villar, who they said is the only presidential front runner who engaged them in the issues they presented. In reaction to the joint statement of Ocamp and Maza, NP spokesman Gilbert Remulla appealed to give the fledgling coalition for the 2010 elections more time to consolidate its ranks. "Give it time. The Villar-Legarda tandem is committed to harness a broad coalition of senatorial bets, having in mind common issues," Remulla said. Both the Marcos and the Makabayan camps are supporting a Villar-Legarda ticket and are both dedicated to an anti-poverty agenda for governance. Remulla is convinced that the gathering of senatorial aspirants of different political persuasions under the NP "is a good start." - LBG/RSJ, GMANews.TV