Lacson: No regrets in pursuing bid

Independent presidential candidate Sen. Panfilo Lacson has no regrets that he pursued his candidacy till the end even if exit polls showed that President Arroyo won last Monday’s elections, his spokesman said yesterday.

"We have no regrets. At this point in time, mahirap magsisihan (it’s hard to put the blame on anyone). Besides, it’s not yet clear who won the presidency," Lito Banayo, who is also Lacson’s political strategist, said.

He was reacting to comments that the opposition would have clobbered Mrs. Arroyo had Lacson, a former Philippine National Police chief, and his opposition rival, movie actor Fernando Poe Jr., agreed to unite.

While saying he did not want finger-pointing, Banayo nonetheless criticized opposition leaders allied with Poe for excluding Lacson from the process of selecting the opposition standard-bearer.

"From the very beginning, ’di kami sinali (we were not included). And when Senator Lacson and FPJ started meeting on a possible unification, they wanted Senator Lacson to withdraw. To them, unification meant our surrender," Banayo said.

While he did not name names, Banayo was apparently referring to Senators Edgardo Angara and Vicente Sotto lll, president and vice president, respectively, of the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP), the political party to which Lacson belongs.

Angara and Sotto had dumped their own partymate in favor of Poe, splitting the LDP into the Angara and Lacson factions. Angara formed the Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino to serve as the vehicle for Poe’s presidential bid.

Banayo said in pursuing his candidacy, his principal was able to explain to the people who cared to listen the problems the nation is facing such as the huge budget deficit, the ballooning national debt, endemic corruption, and lawlessness.

He said if the surveys and exit polls are correct, and Mrs. Arroyo is eventually proclaimed winner, she would have a hard time governing the nation because a huge part of the population voted against her.

"The votes for FPJ, Senator Lacson, Raul Roco, and Bro. Eddie Villanueva were anti-GMA votes. She would have to reach out to these groups if she does eventually win. She would have to offer genuine reconciliation," he said.

He said unfortunately, Mrs. Arroyo has not been sincere in reconciling with those opposed to her administration.

"All her previous attempts at reconciliation were just for show," he added.

Last Sunday, during the prayer for peaceful and orderly elections organized by former President Corazon Aquino, Lacson accepted Mrs. Arroyo’s proposal to talk about reconciliation after the elections.

In the meantime, while the votes are still being canvassed, Lacson is urging his supporters, including about 2,000 lawyers, to keep a close watch at the ongoing canvass.

"We are calling on our supporters to be always vigilant, not to let their guard down, because this is the time when cheating is done at the municipal, city and provincial count level," Banayo said.

He said the Lacson camp would not join any protest action unless it is clear that there is cheating.

"If there is evidence of cheating or fraud, that is the time we protest, that is the time we go to the streets, if need be," he added.

He also said he knows of no pressure from any source for his candidate to concede the elections.

"None so far, at least on my level," he said.