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By Rommel C. Lontayao, Reporter
Concerned about the impending merger between the
ruling political parties, lawyer Adel Tamano said the opposition
forces should unite to boost their chances of winning in the 2010
elections.
Tamano is spokesman of the United Opposition (UNO).
He spoke to The Manila Times in an exclusive roundtable interview on
Tuesday.
“Personally I’m worried about it,” he
said, referring to the merger of the Lakas-Christian Muslim
Democrats (Lakas-CMD) and the Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Kampi).
The two are now coalesced and have begun work on merging.
“The opposition should be very concerned about
that,” Tamano said, adding that the United Opposition is now
making its own efforts to unite its forces.
He said he believes that if the opposition can
get its act together, it would most probably win the major posts in
the 2010 elections. “If we have one unified ticket, I think the
elections are over.”
Other opposition members also share the view
that the opposition must unite and field only one presidential
candidate in 2010.
Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim, head of former
President Joseph Estrada’s political party Puwersa ng Masang
Pilipino (PMP), said that while there are many qualified candidates
in the fold of the opposition, other aspirants for the highest
executive post must make the sacrifice.
Both Estrada and Lim have said the opposition
has to learn from its mistakes in the past, especially that of
fielding too many candidates that split the opposition votes and
allowed President Gloria Arroyo to win in 2004.
“Now we know better. The opposition will field
only one candidate to ensure our victory in the 2010 polls,” Lim
said.
Tamano said there are at least seven
presidential aspirants from various opposition parties.
Although he did not specify who they are, the
names who have been reported in media include Senate President
Manuel Villar of the Nacionalista Party; Mayor Jejomar Binay of
Makati City and Senator Panfilo Lacson of the United Opposition;
Senator Manuel Roxas 2nd of the Liberal Party: Senators Loren
Legarda and Francis Escudero of the Nationalist People’s
Coalition; and some also consider former President Joseph Estrada.
There are questions about Estrada’s candidacy,
because, Tamano said, the United Opposition believes there won’t
be elections in 2010 anyway. Instead, the spokesman said they expect
the administration to push Charter change or some other initiative
not to have elections.
Estrada has been coy about his plans for the
next elections, saying he might consider running if the opposition
fails to rally behind a single candidate.
As for Mayor Lim, he said he thinks Estrada is
“the magnet that holds the opposition together,” adding that
this same magnet shall draw for the opposition the response or
choice of the masses as to who they should field as a presidential
bet in 2010.
Tamano related that in 2007, six months before
the May elections, the opposition somehow managed to get together
mainly because of Estrada, who was then in detention for plunder.
Estrada was convicted after a six-year trial but was pardoned by
President Gloria Arroyo.
“What more now considering he is free? He
definitely has the ability to unite the opposition,” he said.
Plus, the former president remains highly
influential and is “definitely an asset” because of his
influence over 15 percent to 25 percent of the voters, the spokesman
added.
Tamano said the United Opposition has yet to
draft plans on choosing a standard-bearer—that is, if there are
elections.
He said the administration is likely to choose
Vice President Noli de Castro, who is very popular in surveys. And
if the opposition is to have a chance of beating him, the first step
is to unite, Tamano said.
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