Presidential chief of staff Michael Defensor said yesterday "a significant step" for national unity is being undertaken by the administration with the possible inclusion of former senators Vicente "Tito" Sotto III and Tessie Aquino-Oreta and Mrs. Marcos in its senatorial ticket.
With these developments, Defensor said the Arroyo administration could end up fielding a "grand unity ticket" in the May senatorial elections that would include personalities identified with different political eras. He said the unity ticket would finally allow the nation to move on.
"If this early we are already joining hands for what is commonly believed as a divisive political exercise, which is the elections, we can expect more peace, less politicking and more nation-building after the elections when all those who were elected get down to work," Defensor said.
He disclosed attempts to include Mrs. Marcos in the administration’s senatorial lineup to represent the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL), part of the majority coalition in the House of Representatives.
Defensor, who is also running for the Senate, however clarified that Mrs. Marcos was the one who made the initiative to be included in the administration senatorial slate.
He said her intentions would still have to be reviewed by Malacañang and members of the ruling coalition.
But if her request is granted, Defensor said Mrs. Marcos would complete a "grand unity ticket" that would "capture the essence of moving on" past the two EDSA people power revolutions that ousted two presidents in 1986 and 2001.
While the opposition continues with its "hate campaign" against the administration, Defensor said the ruling coalition would continue to create consensus among Filipinos.
Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Sergio Apostol, as regional chairman of the ruling party Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats in the Visayas, also expressed his support for a grand unity ticket to include Sotto and Oreta, known allies of deposed President Joseph Estrada.
Apostol, who was part of the prosecution panel during the impeachment trial against Estrada in the Senate in 2000-2001, said it is now "time to forgive and forget."
"We Catholics are naturally forgiving. It’s about time we leave the past behind and move on. They being critics of the President is not a big issue now," he said.
So far, other possible names in the administration senatorial lineup include Tarlac Rep. Gilbert Teodoro, Bukidnon Rep. Juan Miguel Zubiri, Surigao del Sur Rep. Prospero Pichay, Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis "Chavit" Singson, reelectionist Senators Ralph Recto and Joker Arroyo, Zambales Gov. Vicente Magsaysay, Lanao del Norte Gov. Imelda Dimaporo, and Optical Media Board head Edu Manzano.
Pichay pointed out the two opposition leaders have figured prominently in accusing President Arroyo of all sorts of offenses they could think of, but have the gall to join the administration.
"They are Trojan horses — what kind of politics are they playing? When they were in the opposition, they kept on accusing President Arroyo of cheating, lying and stealing. And now they’re joining our ticket?" Pichay remarked.
He said Sotto and Oreta supported the late actor Fernando Poe Jr., Mrs. Arroyo’s closest opponent in the May 2004 presidential election, and were among leaders and members of the opposition who were calling for her ouster or resignation at the height of the "Hello, Garci" tape recording scandal.
While Oreta was not included the list of opposition senatorial candidates released by Estrada’s camp, her nephew, Tarlac Rep. Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III, was included.
Earlier, Estrada made it clear that only one Aquino should be in the opposition ticket.
Oreta is a sister of Noynoy’s father, the late former senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr., whose wife, former President Corazon Aquino, is a cousin of Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) founder Eduardo "Danding" Cojuangco. Many were thus surprised when Oreta was inducted into the NPC.
If Sotto joins Mrs. Arroyo’s senatorial team, it would be a sort of homecoming for him. In 1997, then Senators Gloria Arroyo and Tito Sotto deserted the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP) to form the Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Kampi).
Mrs. Arroyo was then eyeing the presidency and was planning to have Sotto as her running mate. As fate would have it, she temporarily set aside her presidential ambition to become the vice presidential running mate of Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr., who was Lakas standard-bearer.
De Venecia lost the presidency to then Vice President Joseph Estrada, while Mrs. Arroyo won the vice presidency.
Less than three years later, she would take over from Estrada, who was forced from power amid a corruption scandal.
Former senator Francisco Tatad was the first to resign from the United Opposition, in protest over the forming of the senatorial ticket, which he branded as "dynastic."
The cracks began to grow bigger when Sotto and Oreta bolted from the LDP on Wednesday and joined the NPC, a party in alliance with the ruling Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats.
Another dire development in the opposition occurred after Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile resigned as president of Estrada’s Partido ng Masang Pilipino (PMP).
In his letter, Enrile said he is resigning to give the former president a "free hand" in choosing the senatorial candidates for the opposition.
"Yes, JPE (Enrile) has resigned as chairman of PMP to give Erap (Estrada) a free hand in choosing the candidates. But JPE will remain a member of the PMP," said Enrile’s media officer, Yvon Caunan.
Enrile’s chief of staff Gigi Reyes also confirmed the opposition senator had written Estrada explaining his decision, "so as not to be a burden (to) the party since he could not support the full senatorial slate proposed for the United Opposition ticket in the May elections."
Quoting Enrile’s letter, Reyes said that "while he was committed to support San Juan Mayor JV (Ejercito) Estrada, a son of Estrada, and some of his colleagues in the opposition for senator, he (Enrile) could not in conscience support some of the personalities announced by UNO."
Reyes explained Enrile would not release the letter to the public since it is personally addressed to Estrada. — With Delon Porcalla, Jess Diaz, Christina Mendez