Looks like the Liberal-Nacionalista parties’ coalition isn’t the dream team they thought it would be, what with political talk now making the rounds that the NP isn’t too happy with the inclusion of former Sen. Jamby Madrigal in the administration coalition senatorial slate.
Apparently, Sen. Manny Villar, president of the NP, refuses to have her in the same slate, and understandably so, as it was Madrigal who had made sure she would destroy Villar’s presidential dream, with her non-stop negative campaign against him on the alleged C-5 scam in which she had claimed Villar as the brains.
Madrigal was already seen as a loser in the presidential race, and had more chances of being reelected as a senator. But she made it clear that she was joining the presidential race because she would have that opportunity to wage a full scale negative campaign against Villar, whom she didn’t want to see win the presidency.
The rift in the administration coalition may be likened to a similar situation the United Nationalist Alliance faced when Sen. Koko Pimentel made an issue of not wanting former Sen. Migz Zubiri on the same slate, where UNA leaders had to make a decision, ending up with Pimentel getting out of UNA, and apparently joining the administration LP coalition.
Politically speaking, in the LP-NP coalition, the NP got the short stick of the bargain, as the LP also refused to take in, as a senatorial bet, Robert “Ace” Barbers, mainly because to Noynoy and his LPs, Barbers was a known ally of Gloria Arroyo. They only wanted reelectionists Alan Peter Cayetano, Antonio Trillanes, both known anti-GMA politicians and Villar’s wife, Cynthia.
In truth, the LP, led by Noynoy, is much too hypocritical in its stand of having no one who were once allies of Gloria, considering the fact that too many LPs, both in the Senate and in the House of Representatives, were certainly devoted allies of Gloria Arroyo when she sat in Malacañang, apart from the fact that the so-called local officials whom the LPs have sworn in as their members, in 2010 up to 2013, were also once all loyal political allies of Gloria.
And it is safe to say that come 2016, these same “holier than thou” LPs in power and position today, will become the loyal allies of the next president in Malacañang. At this time, it looks like PDP-Laban leader Vice President Jojo Binay is it, which means the same politicians now swearing fealty to Noynoy and the LP will also be swearing undying fealty to Binay.
That’s how our prostituted politicians make their alliance and remain in power and position.
Still, getting Madrigal out of the coalition slate should prove to be an easy task. After all, it was Madrigal who had volunteered to join the LP slate and chances are high that the LP wouldn’t sacrifice the three NP bets for Madrigal.
But if the LP doesn’t kick out Madrigal from the slate, it is also almost certain that if the NP continues with the coalition, then the NP would be looking like a wet rag and be seen as such a weak party.
Strange though that Villar and the NPs have a different standard when it comes to the LP and Noynoy, who had done an even worse job of destroying Villar and his presidential bid, compared to the one-man wrecking crew of Madrigal.
It was a “let bygones be bygones” spiel the NP had when it came to Akbayan’s Riza Hontiveros, who was also in the forefront, in 2010, as Noynoy’s attack dog against Villar.
Still and all, under the LP coalition, the NP would never hope to become a first class citizen of the LP as Noynoy is known to never forgive or forget, even if they become allies for political convenience.
But that’s the call of the NP — and old political party that has crumbled, as the LP, also an old political party, will be crumbling once 2016 comes along.
