Lakas-Kampi 'rivalry' assures 'everybody happy' w/ Arroyo

The rivalry between the two major political parties affiliated with President Arroyo may, ironically, strengthen the position of the administration for the mid-term elections, with many local candidates seemingly not opting to move over to the opposition despite the disputes. The tug-of-war for members between the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas) and the Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Kampi) has become a case of “everybody happy," where local politicians are given the satisfaction of being “official" candidates of the administration, but under the banner of its various allied parties. The expected result is that more locals will deliver the votes for Team Unity’s senatorial candidates, even as the Palace has more chances of ending up with allies winning in certain provinces and congressional districts. It appears that the strategy is to make sure that the benefits of being officially endorsed by a party—like campaign fund subsidies and entitlement to copies of the election returns for vote monitoring and protection—will be extended to the local allies whether they are with Lakas or Kampi. NEWSBREAK learned from reliable Palace sources that President Arroyo has allotted from the campaign fund equal amounts for Lakas and Kampi, apparently to avoid perceptions that she favors one over the other. There are also efforts to have Lakas accredited by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) as the “dominant majority" party, and Kampi as the “dominant minority" party. If these succeed, both will be entitled to get copies of the election returns from the voting precincts. If the administration is able to pull this off, the opposition parties will lose their right to have copies of ERs. The opposition camp said that this would make the votes of its candidates open to shaving in favor of Ms. Arroyo’s bets.In a recent gathering of Kampi members at the Manila Hotel, Puno acknowledged that a number of those who joined Kampi did so after they felt abandoned by their original parties. He assured the new recruits that they will “get what you came for—that is to be treated as true sons and daughters" of the party. GLORIA’S TRUE PARTY Kampi was formed in 1998 for the presidential bid of then Senator Gloria Arroyo. However, it was abruptly “dissolved" when she agreed to be the running mate of the Lakas presidential candidate Jose de Venecia Jr. When she became President in 2001, Ms. Arroyo assumed the chairmanship of Lakas, while her husband, First Gentleman Jose Miguel “Mike" Arroyo, and major political strategist Ronaldo Puno revived Kampi. The President is the titular head of Kampi. Based on the number of incumbents that Lakas and Kampi are claiming as members—incumbents who are either seeking reelection or fielding their protégés—the administration has the numbers. It is positioned in 58 of the 79 provinces and 149 of the 212 congressional districts. Lakas has 46 governors, while Kampi has at least 12. Lakas has 84 congressmen, with 53 seeking reelection; Kampi has 65.Lakas claims 62 city mayors and 984 municipal mayors. Kampi’s statistics for its mayor-members are not available. DIVIDE THE VOTES Senator Sergio Osmeña III, incoming campaign manager of the senatorial campaign of the Genuine Opposition (GO), still wants to look at the wrangling within the administration campaign as advantageous to the opposition. “When [the other camp is] divided, it’s easier to conquer," he says. He says GO “can always talk to the disgruntled" local candidates of the administration so they would carry the opposition’s senatorial candidates. At the local level, strong opposition candidates will fortify their chances at winning if the administration votes are divided between its numerous candidates. The figures for GO’s local candidates are not available. Former senator Ernesto Maceda, who used to head the forerunner of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, and Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay, are in charge of the selection process for GO’s local bets.Since the 1998 elections, this is the first time that declaring disputed areas as “free zones" will likely work to the advantage of the administration because there are two “ruling" parties. When a local politician doesn’t get the endorsement of Lakas, he or she conveniently transfers to Kampi, and therefore remains on the side of the administration.This is unlike in 1998, 2001, and 2004, when Lakas was either the only ruling party or the unchallenged majority party in a ruling coalition—so disgruntled or displaced politicians had nowhere else to go but to whichever is the dominant opposition party. A congressman critical of President Arroyo says the free zones were meant not just to accommodate more local allies for the administration. They are, the reelectionist congressman says, meant “to keep the fights very local, so [the administration] can operate freely in congressional and senatorial races." Political observers have considered the outcome of this year’s congressional and senatorial elections to be indicative of chances for President Arroyo’s impeachment; the more prospective “impeachers" are elected, the more unstable the President’s hold on power will become. PICKING A FIGHT The Palace has created an arbitration committee, where all parties in the ruling coalition are represented. It is headed by presidential political affairs adviser Gabriel Claudio, who is also senior secretary general of Lakas and a known rival of Kampi’s Puno. The committee has had little success in persuading local politicians to give way to other local allies, thus resulting in a growing number of free zones. The most hotly contested free zones pit Lakas and Kampi candidates against each other—Pangasinan, Batangas, and Quezon, for example. Speaker De Venecia, Lakas co-chair, downplays the supposed rivalry between Lakas and Kampi, telling reporters that it would be “divisive" to discuss the issue. However, Lakas recently officially revived its coalition with the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino, which was its ally in the 1995 senatorial elections. Some in Kampi appear to be picking a fight. In its Manila Hotel gathering, for example, Puno reportedly introduced Kampi president and Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Villafuerte as the “next Speaker" of the House of Representative, effectively announcing their intent to challenge De Venecia when the new Congress convenes in July. Puno has also been quoted as saying that Kampi will now seek Comelec’s accreditation as the dominant majority, not dominant minority, party to be entitled to election returns. If Kampi gets accredited as the dominant majority party, it will rob Lakas of the capability to monitor and protect the votes of its candidates. This will either open Lakas candidates to cheating, or, this early, lure Lakas politicians to join Kampi instead. Puno also announced that Kampi will be fielding candidates for all 17,000 local positions, although he failed to explain how that would be possible. Lakas, with its network established since 1992, says it will field candidates in only 10,000 of the local positions available, according to newly appointed executive director Rey Roquero. - Newsbreak