Rama joins UNA party

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama was elected as chartered member of the UNA party during its organizational meeting Wednesday in Manila.

According to Rama, Vice President Jejomar Binay personally asked him to be a member of his political party, which the former accepted.

“I did not decline because I know how to look up (to those persons who helped you) when the time was rough. I told him (Binay), ‘I will continue to be with you in whatever party that you would like to create’,” he said.

Asked if he would be UNA’s head in Cebu City, Rama said he does not want to make claims because the party still has a lot of “organizational activities” to do.

He also did not elaborate further on his duties as a chartered member of UNA.

Rama said that with this development, a local affiliation Rama would be organized for both the local and national elections in 2016.

He said the group’s interim officials are Senator Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan II (vice president), JV Bautista (secretary general; and former Finance Secretary Gary Teves, treasurer.

On Wednesday, more than 500 founding members met at Century Park Hotel in Manila approving the party’s bylaws and articles.

UNA was named after the coalition formed between Binay’s PDP-Laban and former president Joseph Estrada’s Puwersa ng  Masang  Pilipino in 2010. The party seeks for economic gains to trickle down to the poor, more jobs and livelihood, and more social services for the people.

Today, the party is set to file for accreditation before the Commission on Elections.  Accreditation would reportedly take at least three months to process so that the party’s launching was set on December yet.

Once the party is accredited, the interim officers are set to move for the election of the Vice President as chair and president of the party.

Binay was supposed to launch his political party on June 12, but postponed it because he did not think it was a good time to talk about politics when the nation was reeling from the pork barrel scandal.  (FREEMAN)