Roco sees realignment of local candidates

Ipil, Zambonga Sibugay — Presidential contender Raul Roco said here yesterday that the local campaign will show the true colors of local candidates vying for thousands of elective posts in the May 10 elections.

Now that the campaign for the local elections has started, Roco said there would be a realignment of loyalties with most defectors coming from the camp of President Arroyo, who has the biggest number of local leaders but whose loyalty she cannot always count on.

"Ang administration party pinaghalo-halo na lahat. Sa maraming lugar, duda sila kung saan sila pupunta (The administration party is mixture of everything. In many places, they do not know where to go)," he said.

Roco noted that political defections are a historical reality, citing the failed presidential bids of Speakers Ramon Mitra in 1992 and Jose de Venecia Jr. in 1998.

He said both candidates lost despite having the biggest political machinery at the time, mainly because most of their local candidates dumped them at the last minute.

Earlier, Roco claimed that Mrs. Arroyo has huge advantage over other presidential candidates because she has the "discipline of money." But before the elections, Roco predicts that many of Mrs. Arroyo’s local candidates would desert her "upon realizing that she is not the best choice for the presidency."