By Charlie V. Manalo
From The Daily Tribune
Link: http://www.tribune.net.ph/
Lakas-Kampi presidential bet Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro faces more woes as Speaker Prospero Nograles, together with 30 other congressmen, is said to be ready to bolt the ruling Lakas-Kampi-CMD party and support the presidential candidacy of Nacionalista Party (NP) standard bearer Sen. Manuel Villar Jr., sources close to the administration party said.
“It won’t just be the Speaker who is ready to bolt Lakas. He is bringing along with him 30 congressmen, ready to switch their support to Villar,” the sources told The Tribune yesterday.
According to sources, the 30 still to be identified congressmen who have signified their approval in joining the Speaker in bolting the administration party “are big guns” and have been proven to deliver the votes for whoever they support.
The source refused to name the 30 congressmen but intimated that they are all part of the Speaker’s so-called “core group” in the House of Representatives.
The Tribune reached Nograles through text message confirming dismay over the administration party.
“The candidates in our locals want to support candidates who won’t bring them down in a closely contested local fight. But I know politically they all move differently when their own local fights are close or they get dragged down by national candidates and they won’t risk too much,” Nograles said.
The Speaker, Lakas-Kampi-CMD vice chairman also expressed disappointment at Teodoro and other party leaders who have resigned from their posts last week saying their moves only further confused their members who look upon the party leadership for guidance,
“Many local party mates expect too much from the party and they are confused why so many events are happening nationally which they are ignorant about and party keeps on switching the personalities of the leadership,” said Nograles. “Results are that nobody seems to appear responsible for the locals where to run to, like the song, Who Can I Turn To?”, he added.
Reached for reaction, Teodoro’s spokesman Mike Toledo said that while they regret to hear the report that Nograles and his “core group in the House” are leaving the party, he expressed belief that it might as well do good for the administration bet.
“This is democracy. Everyone is free to leave (the party),” Toledo said in a telephone interview. “While I am surprised as they have long been in the party, they are party stalwarts, it might do good for both sides. It’s good to discover that at this early so we will know who is really with us all the way and we could move on,” he said.
Toledo said that while he could make any reaction on the specifics of Nograles’ camp’s allegations that Teodoro is flirting with his political opponent in Davao City, he said he surmises that maybe the Speaker, along with the 30 other solons, might have outgrown the principles and the visions of Lakas – Kampi – CMD.
“Maybe they have agreed with the principles of the party they have chosen to support,” said Toledo. “I just hope that they agreed to support their new party out of principles and not for anything else.
Teodoro’s spokesperson also downplayed the effects of Nograles’ reported defection to Villar saying they still have more than 40 governors and more than 100 congressmen supporting the administration bet.
“As we have said, the local party machinery is our strength. And we still have more than more than 40 governors and more than 100 congressmen supporting Gibo. And they are supporting Gibo not because of any monetary considerations but out of principle. They have declared they are supporting Gibo because they believe in his principles and visions,” said Toledo.
Tribune sources from the Nograles camp, however, confirmed that the decision to bolt the administration party was arrived at two nights ago, or shortly after the proclamation rally of the Liberal Party in Davao City where Mayor Rodrigo Duterte openly declared his support for LP presidential bet Sen. Benigno “Nonoy” Aquino and his running mate, Sen. Manuel “Mar “ Roxas.
Nograles and Duterte are long-time political foes in Davao City. The Speaker is running for the top City post, while Duterte has fielded his daughter, Sara, as his mayoralty bet, as he himself runs for the second top post, as vice mayor.
The Speaker will be making a formal announcement but his team mates in Davao City— congressional candidates Ruy Lopez and Joji Bian —have already been openly campaigning for Sen. Loren Legarda, NP’s vice-presidential bet.
Davao is a vote-rich city with 950,000 voters.
Asked for the reason Nograles has decided to bolt the party he led, the sources told the Tribune that Nograles has grown frustrated because all his concerns are not being addressed by the administration, including his demand for adequate government response to the political killings and summary executions in Davao City.
It will be recalled that the Speaker, a human rights lawyer, has been denouncing the many extra-judicial killings in Davao City and elsewhere, said to be perpetrated by the Davao Death Squad, which the United Nations Special Rapporteur Professor Philip Alston, described as “state sponsored” saying that the DDS has links to the Davao City mayor. To date, none of these summary executions by the DDS has been solved by the city government, despite the close to P1 billion peace and order fund under the control of Duterte.
A major frustration of Speaker Nograles was the designation of Madeline “Bebot” Marfori as Lakas-Kampi’s chief campaign operator for administration bet Teodoro in Davao City, which the sources said is totally unacceptable being a “dyed in wool” supporter of Duterte.
“Both Nonoy and Teodoro are flirting with Duterte, who is the main suspect of all these summary executions and political killings in Davao City, obviously for political convenience.
“The Speaker thinks this is totally unacceptable and he feels that the political killings and summary executions in Davao City will never be resolved if either of the two become president,” the source said.
“The administration has done nothing about the summary executions and Noynoy is supporting a known human rights violator in Mayor Duterte. Davao City will be in a worse situation, with Noynoy supporting Duterte. Gibo has also been very silent on these extra-judicial killings, so what’s the use of staying on in Lakas?”, the sources reasoned.
Two days ago, the LP team of Aquino and Roxas were in Davao City and were openly endorsed by Duterte as his presidential and vice presidential bets.
It was reported that while they were in a motorcade with the mayor, with the many people around, Duterte was heard to tell the driver to move and run over the people who stand on the vehicles way.
“That’s the kind of officials that Noynoy wants on his side? A human rights violator?” the sources said.
Nograles’ media adviser, Gil Bugaosian, said that while he cannot confirm the report, the Speaker has expressed disappointment in many occasions the way Malacañang is handling the human rights problem in Davao City and how his request for full disarmament of armed local officials and barangay official fell into deaf ears.
Also, Bugaoisan said that communist insurgents led by Leoncio Pitao, alias Kumander Parago, who is a known ally of Duterte, is practically in control of rural villages in Davao City but Malacañang has not made any effort to neutralize or even disarm them.
Lakas-Kampi presidential bet Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro faces more woes as Speaker Prospero Nograles, together with 30 other congressmen, is said to be ready to bolt the ruling Lakas-Kampi-CMD party and support the presidential candidacy of Nacionalista Party (NP) standard bearer Sen. Manuel Villar Jr., sources close to the administration party said.
“It won’t just be the Speaker who is ready to bolt Lakas. He is bringing along with him 30 congressmen, ready to switch their support to Villar,” the sources told The Tribune yesterday.
According to sources, the 30 still to be identified congressmen who have signified their approval in joining the Speaker in bolting the administration party “are big guns” and have been proven to deliver the votes for whoever they support.
The source refused to name the 30 congressmen but intimated that they are all part of the Speaker’s so-called “core group” in the House of Representatives.
The Tribune reached Nograles through text message confirming dismay over the administration party.
“The candidates in our locals want to support candidates who won’t bring them down in a closely contested local fight. But I know politically they all move differently when their own local fights are close or they get dragged down by national candidates and they won’t risk too much,” Nograles said.
The Speaker, Lakas-Kampi-CMD vice chairman also expressed disappointment at Teodoro and other party leaders who have resigned from their posts last week saying their moves only further confused their members who look upon the party leadership for guidance,
“Many local party mates expect too much from the party and they are confused why so many events are happening nationally which they are ignorant about and party keeps on switching the personalities of the leadership,” said Nograles. “Results are that nobody seems to appear responsible for the locals where to run to, like the song, Who Can I Turn To?”, he added.
Reached for reaction, Teodoro’s spokesman Mike Toledo said that while they regret to hear the report that Nograles and his “core group in the House” are leaving the party, he expressed belief that it might as well do good for the administration bet.
“This is democracy. Everyone is free to leave (the party),” Toledo said in a telephone interview. “While I am surprised as they have long been in the party, they are party stalwarts, it might do good for both sides. It’s good to discover that at this early so we will know who is really with us all the way and we could move on,” he said.
Toledo said that while he could make any reaction on the specifics of Nograles’ camp’s allegations that Teodoro is flirting with his political opponent in Davao City, he said he surmises that maybe the Speaker, along with the 30 other solons, might have outgrown the principles and the visions of Lakas – Kampi – CMD.
“Maybe they have agreed with the principles of the party they have chosen to support,” said Toledo. “I just hope that they agreed to support their new party out of principles and not for anything else.
Teodoro’s spokesperson also downplayed the effects of Nograles’ reported defection to Villar saying they still have more than 40 governors and more than 100 congressmen supporting the administration bet.
“As we have said, the local party machinery is our strength. And we still have more than more than 40 governors and more than 100 congressmen supporting Gibo. And they are supporting Gibo not because of any monetary considerations but out of principle. They have declared they are supporting Gibo because they believe in his principles and visions,” said Toledo.
Tribune sources from the Nograles camp, however, confirmed that the decision to bolt the administration party was arrived at two nights ago, or shortly after the proclamation rally of the Liberal Party in Davao City where Mayor Rodrigo Duterte openly declared his support for LP presidential bet Sen. Benigno “Nonoy” Aquino and his running mate, Sen. Manuel “Mar “ Roxas.
Nograles and Duterte are long-time political foes in Davao City. The Speaker is running for the top City post, while Duterte has fielded his daughter, Sara, as his mayoralty bet, as he himself runs for the second top post, as vice mayor.
The Speaker will be making a formal announcement but his team mates in Davao City— congressional candidates Ruy Lopez and Joji Bian —have already been openly campaigning for Sen. Loren Legarda, NP’s vice-presidential bet.
Davao is a vote-rich city with 950,000 voters.
Asked for the reason Nograles has decided to bolt the party he led, the sources told the Tribune that Nograles has grown frustrated because all his concerns are not being addressed by the administration, including his demand for adequate government response to the political killings and summary executions in Davao City.
It will be recalled that the Speaker, a human rights lawyer, has been denouncing the many extra-judicial killings in Davao City and elsewhere, said to be perpetrated by the Davao Death Squad, which the United Nations Special Rapporteur Professor Philip Alston, described as “state sponsored” saying that the DDS has links to the Davao City mayor. To date, none of these summary executions by the DDS has been solved by the city government, despite the close to P1 billion peace and order fund under the control of Duterte.
A major frustration of Speaker Nograles was the designation of Madeline “Bebot” Marfori as Lakas-Kampi’s chief campaign operator for administration bet Teodoro in Davao City, which the sources said is totally unacceptable being a “dyed in wool” supporter of Duterte.
“Both Nonoy and Teodoro are flirting with Duterte, who is the main suspect of all these summary executions and political killings in Davao City, obviously for political convenience.
“The Speaker thinks this is totally unacceptable and he feels that the political killings and summary executions in Davao City will never be resolved if either of the two become president,” the source said.
“The administration has done nothing about the summary executions and Noynoy is supporting a known human rights violator in Mayor Duterte. Davao City will be in a worse situation, with Noynoy supporting Duterte. Gibo has also been very silent on these extra-judicial killings, so what’s the use of staying on in Lakas?”, the sources reasoned.
Two days ago, the LP team of Aquino and Roxas were in Davao City and were openly endorsed by Duterte as his presidential and vice presidential bets.
It was reported that while they were in a motorcade with the mayor, with the many people around, Duterte was heard to tell the driver to move and run over the people who stand on the vehicles way.
“That’s the kind of officials that Noynoy wants on his side? A human rights violator?” the sources said.
Nograles’ media adviser, Gil Bugaosian, said that while he cannot confirm the report, the Speaker has expressed disappointment in many occasions the way Malacañang is handling the human rights problem in Davao City and how his request for full disarmament of armed local officials and barangay official fell into deaf ears.
Also, Bugaoisan said that communist insurgents led by Leoncio Pitao, alias Kumander Parago, who is a known ally of Duterte, is practically in control of rural villages in Davao City but Malacañang has not made any effort to neutralize or even disarm them.
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