DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Sen. Francis Escudero believes Mindanao would be the loser should Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III and former senator Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri continue their feud over who must be in the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) senatorial lineup in next year’s elections.
“It is a loss for Mindanao because they are both from Mindanao if they go on with their bickering,” he said.
They might both fail in their race for the Senate if they are not able to resolve their issues, Escudero said.
Pimentel is from Cagayan de Oro City, while Zubiri is a native of Bukidnon.
Zubiri resigned from the Senate last year after witnesses came out to prove earlier accusations of cheating, particularly in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), in the 2007 elections.
Pimentel until now refuses to give in to the elders of UNA, including Vice President Jejomar Binay, former President Joseph Estrada and Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, for him to reconsider his position opposing Zubiri’s inclusion in the UNA lineup.
Escudero likens the quarrel between Pimentel and Zubiri as some kind of “lovers’ quarrel” or “LQ.”
“Hopefully, they will be able to resolve their disagreement soon,” he said.
Escudero said what Pimentel and Zubiri are doing is equivalent to their pulling each other down.
“They pull each other down until no one will benefit from it, not even any of the two,” he said.
‘Unsolvable’
Former senator Aquilino Pimentel Jr. said yesterday the rift between his son and Zubiri is “unsolvable.”
“The situation becomes unsolvable,” he said. “Koko stands on basic principle.”
Speaking at the weekly Kapihan sa Diamond Hotel media forum, the elder Pimentel said his son cannot accept the decision of UNA to include Zubiri in its list of senatorial candidates.
“Koko will not be able to accept in conscience to run under the same party (as Zubiri),” he said.
The elder Pimentel said the case he filed against then senatorial candidate Juan Ponce Enrile involving allegations of cheating in the 1995 elections was much different from the case of his son.
“They filed a protest, his protest was successful, and there was wrongdoing,” he said.
“(Migz) gave up the Senate seat after four years of struggle. There is no reason for him (Koko) to allow the situation running on the same ticket with the person who allegedly cheated him.”
In 2004, the Supreme Court ruled that the petition of the elder Pimentel had become moot since he had already joined Enrile in the Senate after winning a six-year term in 1998.
However, the elder Pimentel said his case against Enrile was unfinished because the Senate Electoral Tribunal had run out of funds to proceed with the recount.