Roman: Lakas-NPC deal won’t work if...

BALANGA, Bataan — Gov. Leonardo Roman, a stalwart of the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), has warned that any alliance between his party and the administration Lakas-CMD (Christian Muslim Democrats) party at the national level may likely break up at the local level and adversely affect the candidacy of President Arroyo in the May 2004 polls.

"Local NPC candidates cannot campaign for President Arroyo and other national candidates despite their alliance with the administration party unless Lakas refrains from fielding candidates against incumbent NPC officials in the provinces," Roman told The STAR.

He said the same thing happened when Speaker Jose de Venecia ran for president in 1998.

"His rainbow coalition did not work because at the lower levels, incumbent officials were opposed by candidates from other parties in the coalition," he said.

"What happened in 1998 was that instead of the candidates commonly campaigning for De Venecia in their areas, they concentrated on campaigning for other candidates of parties within the rainbow coalition," he said.

Roman said the President would be placed in an "embarrassing" situation in areas where candidates under a joint NPC-Lakas banner are pitted against Lakas members.

In Bataan where all provincial board members and 10 of 12 mayors belong to the NPC, he said a working alliance between his party and Lakas-CMD would fail unless the administration party refrains from fielding its own candidates against incumbents.

"It would be hard to imagine NPC candidates in Bataan also campaigning for the candidacy of President Arroyo while they are being opposed in the elections by Lakas candidates. The instinct would be survival," he said.

Roman warned that the President would likely face difficulties during the campaign period in her home-province of Pampanga, where NPC members are set to run for various positions while professing support for her presidential bid.

Pampanga Reps. Juan Pablo Bondoc (fourth district) and Zenaida Ducut (second district), both NPC members, are running for governor against Gov. Lito Lapid’s son Mark, the Lakas-CMD’s standard bearer.

"Both Bondoc and Ducut are now (encountering) some difficulties (in the light of the) NPC-Lakas alliance in Pampanga since they have committed to support the presidential bid of Mrs. Arroyo," Roman said.

Roman, who is seeking a third term, said he has received reports that Lakas is fielding Balanga City Mayor Alberta Garcia, daughter of Rep. Enrico Garcia, against him.