Lakas-Kampi merger to push through this year - Puno

MANILA, Philippines - An official of the Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Kampi) believes that his party’s proposed alliance with the ruling Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrat (Lakas-CMD) will push through within the year. During Wednesday’s gathering of Kampi members in Greenhills, San Juan, Local Government secretary and Kampi chairman Ronaldo Puno said it will take them five months to iron out the kinks in the proposed merger. “It may take us 90 days or three months for this, and probably another two months on the national scale,” he said, as he admitted encountering problems in the merger. “There are many problems in the merger. We can’t run away from that. We can’t ignore it because it will only recur in the future,” he said. Puno said that once it becomes a reality, the Lakas-Kampi merger will “ensure that the administration is the strongest party in (the) 2010” presidential polls. Among the issues being tackled for the merger were the creation of a platform committee tasked to discuss Lakas and Kampi’s vision to achieve a common ground; a legal study of what will be the implication of a merger, coalition or association; and the organizational panel that will attempt to bridge the disputes in areas where Lakas and Kampi stalwarts clash. Puno said they have to pause for a “two-tiered merger” to address some problematic concerns that came out between Lakas and Kampi officials during the May 2007 senatorial elections. He also urged officials from both parties to set aside their disputes first. “If there is a dispute, let us set aside that first. If we organize ourselves, there is no reason why this party will not win anywhere,” he said. - GMANews.TV