Referendum
It is the nature of the country’s traditional elections that power struggle and political convenience can galvanize disparate forces: Villar, Pangilinan, Legarda, the families of Roco and Pimentel III and, in a defining moment, Lacson, as director general of the PNP, were key figures in the 2001 ouster of Estrada that was initiated by the militant Left and paved the way for the ascendance of Gloria Arroyo into the presidency. Escudero has long been identified with Estrada, was in the frontline against his impeachment and became an initiator of the two impeachments against the incumbent President. Escudero is from the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) of political kingpin Eduardo Cojuangco, Jr. which is split in this election, with one faction siding with Mrs. Arroyo.
Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay, UNO president, who took pains in cobbling together the GO ticket at times in close talks with Estrada who is in detention since mid-2001 – has minced no words in saying that the mid-term election is a “referendum” for Arroyo and that the President’s removal is a campaign issue. As opposition leader, Binay was himself a victim of a Malacaang purge to remove him as city mayor on graft charges last year.
Conversely, the administration “Team Unity” clusters pro-Arroyo hardliners, pro-Estrada allies who turned into the proverbial “political butterflies,” local political figures and TV-movie celebrities. Leyte Gov. Jericho Petilla, a member of a political dynasty in Eastern Visayas, who was earlier included in the ticket, begged off at the last minute because, reports said, he was certain to lose. Movie actor Cesar Montano, who hails from Bohol, took his place.
In the administration ticket are proven pro-Arroyo allies: Michael Defensor (LP, “Atienza wing”), former presidential chief of staff; Rep. Juan Miguel Zubiri (Lakas-CMD, Bukidnon); Rep. Prospero Pichay, Jr. (Lakas-CMD, Surigao del Sur); Sen. Edgardo Angara (LDP, Quezon), Estrada’s former executive secretary; and Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis “Chavit” Singson (Lakas-CMD), the whistle-blower who precipitated Estrada’s impeachment.
Sens. Joker Arroyo (Kampi/Independent, Makati), who headed the prosecution in the Estrada impeachment, and Ralph Recto (Lakas-CMD/Independent, Batangas) had agonized which ticket to join but finally decided to cast their lot with the administration slate. Former Sens. Vicente Sotto III (NPC), a TV personality, and Tessie Aquino-Oreta (NPC), sister of slain Sen. Benigno Aquino, Jr., jumped into the administration ticket after being dropped from the GO slate. Sotto III and Aquino-Oreta used to be in the inner circle of Estrada and the late Fernando Poe, Jr, who ran against Gloria Arroyo in 2004.
Zambales Gov. Vicente Magsaysay (Lakas-CMD/Kilusang Bagong Lipunan) and Jamalul Kiram III (PDSP), heir to the Sultanate of Sulu, are supposed to represent the LGUs, claimed to be the local government base of the President. Magsaysay is a cousin of Sen. Ramon Magsaysay, Jr., son of a former president, while Kiram III’s PDSP is the party of National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzalez, who has led the campaign of vilification against progressive Party-list groups and other alleged Left “front organizations” and is blamed partly for the reported deaths of hundreds of activists.
2007 Elections
