By Yolanda Sotelo (Inquirer Northern Luzon)
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20100324-260646/Lakas-may-expel-members-supporting-other-betsTeodoro
BINALONAN, Pangasinan, Philippines—Lakas-Kampi standard-bearer Gilbert Teodoro Jr. said party members who back other presidential aspirants run the risk of enduring strict disciplinary actions or outright expulsion.
But he said the Lakas campaign had already forecast the eventual party-switching among its ranks before it launched his presidential bid.
"We have factored [into the campaign strategy] a certain amount of defection [that would take place]. That happens. You can't stop it. Rather than not accept [defections] as a reality, you have to be ready [if you want to proceed with an efficient campaign]," he said.
Teodoro toured this town on Wednesday, part of a Pangasinan sortie that coincided with the two-day provincial tour of his cousin, Senator Benigno Aquino III, standard-bearer of the Liberal Party.
On Sunday in Baguio City, Florencio Abad Jr., LP campaign manager, said his party had been documenting the activities of Lakas provincial candidates, who have openly campaigned for Senator Manuel Villar Jr., the Nacionalista Party standard-bearer.
Abad said LP has concluded that Villar may soon receive full backing from the Lakas-Kampi leadership, which would place Teodoro in an awkward position.
When asked here, Teodoro said Lakas would not conduct any loyalty check to preempt more members from abandoning the administration campaign.
"It's a party matter, so it will be the party which will act on the erring party members," Teodoro told reporters here.
"Asal na ng ibang Filipino 'yan, di maiiwasan (That's how some Filipinos behave. We can't avoid that)," he said.
BINALONAN, Pangasinan, Philippines—Lakas-Kampi standard-bearer Gilbert Teodoro Jr. said party members who back other presidential aspirants run the risk of enduring strict disciplinary actions or outright expulsion.
But he said the Lakas campaign had already forecast the eventual party-switching among its ranks before it launched his presidential bid.
"We have factored [into the campaign strategy] a certain amount of defection [that would take place]. That happens. You can't stop it. Rather than not accept [defections] as a reality, you have to be ready [if you want to proceed with an efficient campaign]," he said.
Teodoro toured this town on Wednesday, part of a Pangasinan sortie that coincided with the two-day provincial tour of his cousin, Senator Benigno Aquino III, standard-bearer of the Liberal Party.
On Sunday in Baguio City, Florencio Abad Jr., LP campaign manager, said his party had been documenting the activities of Lakas provincial candidates, who have openly campaigned for Senator Manuel Villar Jr., the Nacionalista Party standard-bearer.
Abad said LP has concluded that Villar may soon receive full backing from the Lakas-Kampi leadership, which would place Teodoro in an awkward position.
When asked here, Teodoro said Lakas would not conduct any loyalty check to preempt more members from abandoning the administration campaign.
"It's a party matter, so it will be the party which will act on the erring party members," Teodoro told reporters here.
"Asal na ng ibang Filipino 'yan, di maiiwasan (That's how some Filipinos behave. We can't avoid that)," he said.
He said there was no evidence that a Lakas member from Pangasinan had turned his or her back on Teodoro's candidacy.
He said Pangasinan will be significant if he wants to win the presidency because of its huge number of voters. But he said he has not contacted Pangasinan Representative Jose de Venecia Jr., a Lakas co-founder who was expelled last year after he broke ties with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Teodoro and his teammates held motorcades in eastern Pangasinan but Aquino had been barnstorming the province since Tuesday. The cousins never met.
Asked what he will do in case they meet, Teodoro said: "Kakamayan ko siya (I would shake his hands). But I won't kiss him. That will be too much."
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