Lakas split seen to benefit Danding

A split in the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD) ruling party is expected to boost tycoon Eduardo "Danding" Cojuangco Jr.’s chances of winning next year’s presidential election, a key Cojuangco ally said yesterday.

Former senator Ernesto Maceda, president emeritus of the Nationalist People’s Coalition, said some Lakas-CMD members have been mulling defecting to the NPC.

Maceda said the NPC — founded by Cojuangco when he made his first unsuccessful run for the presidency in 1992 — will then emerge as the "best political organization" that will include "anywhere from 100 to 150 congressmen" campaigning for him nationwide.

Cojuangco’s opinion poll ratings will improve once the NPC announces their new members, Maceda told a television interview late Friday.

"Yes, it will ‘spike’ when we finally come to a point... when we formally announce former Lakas or (Arroyo) supporters supporting us," he said.

Cojuangco continues to lag in opinion polls of potential presidential aspirants, which Maceda dismissed as "mysterious."

"It doesn’t compute. There’s something wrong with the survey. There are inconsistencies in the survey figures," he said, citing a significant number of Filipinos who want Mrs. Arroyo to remain president despite a sharp drop in her popularity ratings.

Cojuangco has yet to decide whether to run for president next year but said he will announce his decision by the end of September.

The 70-year-old businessman, one of the country’s richest men, was returned as chairman of San Miguel Corp. when former President Joseph Estrada won the 1998 presidential election.

He successfully turned around the fortunes of the food and beverage conglomerate, which was hard hit by the 1997 Asian financial crisis.

Cracks in the ruling Lakas-CMD party became evident when Senate Majority Leader Loren Legarda quit Lakas on Thursday, which was followed the next day by the resignation of Vice President Teofisto Guingona Jr. as president of the party. Guingona remains Vice President.

Both accused Mrs. Arroyo of being slow with reforms.

Maceda said Lakas congressmen have been holding marathon meetings to decide whether to follow suit, after Lakas executive director Joey Rufino challenged allies to declare which side they are on.

"These people are talking about the fact that Joey Rufino has said that if you cannot support (Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo), you better get out. I’ve been with them, and they said ‘bago tayo sipain ni Joey Rufino, unahan na natin (Let’s beat them to it before Joey Rufino kicks us out),’" Maceda said.

He also raised the likelihood of administration senators jumping ship since many senators believe that an anonymous newspaper advertisement published recently calling for the Senate’s abolition came from "somebody close to Malacañang" because of the chamber’s inquiry into the money laundering allegations against Mrs. Arroyo’s husband.

Opposition Sen. Panfilo Lacson has accused First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo of laundering over P200 million in several dummy bank accounts.