Split in opposition bolsters chances for PPC sweep

First it was a strain, then a split; very soon it will become a cleavage in the opposition campaign for the May election.

The opposition split has surfaced with former Executive Secretary Edgardo Angara lashing out at former Sen. Ernesto Maceda for allegedly sowing dissension in the opposition, an official of the Lakas-NUCD-UMDP said yesterday.

The split in the opposition ranks has bolstered the People Power Coalition (PPC) chances of a 13-0 sweep in the senatorial race in the May elections, executive director Joey Rufino of Lakas said.

"We know of this split, and we know it will come out sooner or later. That’s why we are confident of a clean sweep in the senatorial race," Rufino said.

Angara, lead senatorial candidate of the opposition, was reacting to a statement of Maceda last Wednesday that the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) was junking five senatorial candidates of the opposition Puwersa ng Masa (PM).

Maceda claimed that some NPC candidates have entered into an alliance with the ruling Lakas-NUCD party to support PPC senatorial bets.

After a Puwersa rally in Occidental Mindoro, Maceda said that NPC is junking opposition senatorial candidates Orlando Mercado, Jamby Madrigal, Dr. Ombra Tamano, Santanina Rasul and Reuben Canoy.

At the local level, the PM may end up with no official candidate by election day on May 14.

Rufino said Maceda’s revelation stemmed from the dissatisfaction with the alliance for its failure to come up with their "pledged" cash and operational support.

"This is the truth behind Maceda’s statement and even to Blas Ople’s assurances of former President (Joseph) Estrada’s heavily contributing to their campaign kitty," Rufino said.

Rufino disclosed that as early as February, many local bets of the opposition have sent feelers to Lakas asking for an audience with the party’s officials, apparently sounding off their desire to shift allegiance from PM to the ruling party without necessarily changing parties.

"Many of these local candidates are now worried the opposition camp may not be able to sustain their candidacy up to the end of the campaign period. They have sent feelers to us indicating their desire to transfer," he revealed.

Rufino said many of these disgruntled candidates were frustrated over the promise of cash and operational support from the mother party Partido ng Masang Pilipino that failed to materialize.

The opposition’s campaign fund has been dwindling from paying off people to fill the opposition rallies in provincial sorties in an attempt to project Estrada’s hold on the masses. This problem is compounded by the freeze orders issued by the Ombudsman and tight watch of the government on financial institutions suspected of holding Estrada’s accounts.

With this development, he said the opposition’s senatorial candidates fear losing a mass base of support nationwide from local officials.

"There are strong indications that Puwersa will become a spent force even before the thick of the election fight comes," he said.