Escudero, Poe to complete UNA senatorial slate

MANILA, Philippines – The United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) has practically completed its senatorial slate for 2013 with the allocation of its last two slots to Sen. Francis Escudero and Movie and Television Review and Classification Board chair Grace Poe Llamanzares.

Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada said yesterday that Escudero and Llamanzares would almost certainly be part of UNA’s ticket, not as members of either the Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) or the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), but as guest candidates.

Estrada, who is president of the PMP, said that Escudero is acceptable to UNA as a guest candidate, since he is a friend to all of its leaders, namely former President Joseph Estrada, Vice President Jejomar Binay and Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile.

At present, UNA has 10 official candidates for next year’s senatorial race, namely Senators Loren Legarda and Gregorio Honasan, Cagayan Rep. Juan Ponce Enrile Jr., Zambales Rep. Milagros Magsaysay, San Juan City Rep. Joseph Victor Ejercito, Cebu Governor Gwen Garcia, former senators Richard Gordon, Ernesto Maceda and Juan Miguel Zubiri, and businessman Jose De Venecia III.

However, Escudero, Legarda and Rep. Enrile would most likely also be part of the senatorial ticket of the Liberal Party (LP)-led administration coalition, according to House Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II.

Escudero was earlier nominated by the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC). Legarda and Enrile are also NPC members.

Estrada said the LP is interested in adding Llamanzares to its line-up.

He said that Llamanzares’ name did not crop up during the initial discussions of UNA because there was no indication that she was interested in participating in the 2013 elections.

Estrada said Llamanzares is welcome to join UNA because apart from being the daughter of one of the stalwarts of PMP, the late actor Fernando Poe Jr., she is also very qualified to serve as a senator.

“If Grace decides to run under the LP, nobody would believe that President Estrada or I will not help her. In my own personal capacity, I will really try to campaign for her because of the relationship with her father, and she is my kumare,” he said.

Estrada personally talked to Llamanzares yesterday and asked her to remain an independent if ever she is offered a slot in the LP slate and accepts it.

Torn between two parties

Meanwhile, Gonzales said one condition they have imposed on nominees is that they should not join the campaign of any other party that adopts them in its ticket.

If the nominees will not accept such condition, he said they have no choice but to reject them.

The LP has forged an alliance with the NPC and the Nacionalista Party (NP) for the fielding of common candidates in the May 2013 elections.

Cavite Rep. Joseph Emilio Abaya, who is LP secretary general, said they have no control over the decision of other political parties to include administration coalition candidates in their tickets.

“But they will have to campaign only with us. We’ve been unequivocal about this. They will not be allowed to be on the other side,” he said.

Abaya said the LP and its coalition partners would have to finalize their list of candidates this month since the filing of certificates of candidacy is set for the first week of October.

Rep. Enrile’s father is one of UNA’s leaders and is in fact one of only three members of its executive committee – the other two being Binay and Estrada.

Sen. Enrile belongs to Estrada’s Puwersa ng Masang Pilipino.

Estrada’s congressman-son, Joseph Victor Ejercito of San Juan, is one of UNA’s senatorial candidates. – Jess Diaz