Lacson camp pushing for dialogue with FPJ

The camp of Sen. Panfilo Lacson is pushing for a dialogue with opposition presidential rival Fernando Poe Jr. to save the opposition from disintegrating.

"If Senator Lacson and Mr. Poe meet, they will realize that they both have to work together for the good of the country, and I think they can agree on some ground rules or steps to unite the opposition," Makati Rep. Agapito Aquino said yesterday.

He said during the meeting of opposition leaders two weeks ago, they had agreed that as a first step toward unification, the two opposition presidential aspirants should hold a one-on-one meeting and discuss matters between them.

"I am optimistic that if they are able to talk behind closed doors all by themselves, an agreement that would be beneficial to the opposition could be reached," he added.

Some observers believe that the proposed one-on-one meeting can serve as a face-saving mechanism for either side of the quarreling opposition.

Aquino is secretary general of the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP), the largest political party in the opposition headed by Sen. Edgardo Angara. He is a Lacson supporter, while his party boss is for Poe, known as "Da King" of Philippine movies.

Apparently, Aquino is giving up hope that Angara can unite his own party.

During the meeting of opposition leaders that the LDP secretary general referred to, a five-man panel led by former senator Juan Ponce Enrile was created to bring Lacson and Poe together to talk.

The panel set the meeting for Dec. 3, but this did not push through since, according to Poe himself in an interview during a Mass for the late son of former senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, his supposed spokesman, Sen. Vicente Sotto III, did not tell him about it. Sotto is a member of the Enrile group.

Another meeting was scheduled last Saturday but this, too, was scrapped.

In his statement last Friday, Lacson said his group is coordinating with a new spokesman for Poe, who he did not identify.

Aquino said he hopes that the two aspirants can meet before Dec. 15, when the filing of certificates of candidacy starts.

"What is important at this point is for the two of them to sit down and agree on how to choose a single presidential candidate for the opposition. If this is settled, then we can consolidate our forces for the bigger battle in May 2004," he said.

Angara has expelled Lacson from the LDP for accepting his supporters’ nomination as their presidential standard bearer in next year’s elections. Aquino and other Lacson supporters, including Minority Leader Carlos Padilla, the head of the LDP bloc in the House of Representatives, have also dropped themselves from the party, Angara said.

But Padilla said they are not recognizing their party president’s "one-man" decision since under party rules, it is the appropriate governing council in the province, region or national level that can discipline a member upon the recommendation of the secretary general.

"That is the procedure, and there has to be an investigation. Those who are expelling us should read our rules," he said.

He said their falling out with their party head began some months back when Angara wanted to "dictate on us his choice of a presidential candidate."

"At that time, he wanted us to support Ambassador Danding (Eduardo) Cojuangco. We told him, ‘You have to hear us, consult us and other members.’ And he asked, ‘What am I your president for if you don’t trust me with our choice of a standard-bearer?’ Since that time, he started ignoring us," recalled Padilla, a former Angara loyalist.

Padilla and most of his LDP colleagues in the House are for Lacson.

He said if there would be a process to select who among Poe, Lacson, Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr., Sen. Gregorio Honasan, and other aspirants would be the opposition standard-bearer, his group would abide by it.

His group includes Aquino, and Representatives Rolex Suplico of Iloilo, Celso Lobregat of Zamboanga City, Emmylon Talino-Santos of North Cotabato, Abraham Mitra of Palawan, and Ruffy Biazon of Muntinlupa.

Biazon’s father has bolted the LDP and joined Raul Roco. Two LDP congressmen have defected to the camp of President Arroyo.