GMA's NUP to coalesce with LP

MANILA, Philippines - The National Unity Party (NUP), composed of erstwhile allies of former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, is set to forge a coalition agreement with the administration Liberal Party (LP) for the 2013 senatorial elections.

The NUP, which was accredited by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) as a political party in December 2010, also formally elected Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. as its chairman emeritus during its first national convention yesterday. Belmonte is also vice chairman of the LP.

Deputy Speaker and Cebu Rep. Pablo Garcia, NUP chairman, said the leaders of the party and LP will sign a partnership agreement on Friday, or three days before the start of the filing of certificates of candidacy.

“We have an ongoing negotiation with LP for a possible coalition... We will support senatorial candidates of the LP,” Garcia told reporters on the sidelines of the NUP’s show of force at the Sofitel hotel in Pasay City.

The NUP has 30 members in the House of Representatives, mostly former members of the political party Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (KAMPI) founded by Arroyo in 1997. It also has 12 governors as members.

The LP had earlier forged an alliance with the Nacionalista Party of Sen. Manuel Villar and the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) of business tycoon Eduardo Cojuangco Jr.

No LP senatorial aspirant attended the NUP convention but Sen. Gregorio Honasan and San Juan City Rep. Joseph Victor Ejercito Estrada – both members of the senatorial slate of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) – were present. Both are seeking the support of the NUP for their Senate bids.

UNA is headed by former President Joseph Estrada and Vice President Jejomar Binay.