'Wednesday Group' reunites

MANILA, Philippines –  After going their separate ways before the May elections, the so-called Wednesday Group at the Senate reunited during a Christmas party for the media.   

At the party held at the Senate offices in Pasay City last Friday night, former Vice President Noli de Castro and Senators Manuel Villar, Ralph Recto, Francis Pangilinan and Joker Arroyo huddled in one table.

It was the first time that the five came together after going their respective ways because of political differences months before the May elections. In his Christmas message, his first public statement since conceding defeat to President Aquino in the May elections, Villar thanked everybody who helped him and “even those who did not help” him in his bid for the presidency. “Natuto na, napaso (I’ve learned my lesson. I’ve been burned). But I have moved on,” Villar said, but refused to discuss his political plans once his term ends in 2013.

The real estate magnate, who owns majority shares of the Vistaland Corp., said that he now focuses his efforts on his job as a lawmaker and on his family business. “Hanap-buhay muna (I have to make a living first),” he joked.

Pangilinan said despite their political differences, years of friendship between them still matter. He even said that he and Villar may end up running for president in the 2016 elections. “Who knows? (Former US) President Nixon lost in his first try,” Pangilinan said. Nixon lost the United States presidential elections in 1960 but won by a wide margin in 1968.

De Castro, who has returned to broadcasting, said he is happy to visit the Senate to reminisce about his days as a lawmaker. 

He even joked that he was attending the hearings on the Globe Asiatique housing mess only because he wants to see everyone and visit his former working place.

The Wednesday Group alliance started during the 12th Congress when the five members regularly met on Wednesdays.