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Lakas-CMD mixed on senatorial choices


Reps. Martin Romualdez and Danilo Suarez announced Lakas-CMD's
final senatorial line-up for May 13 polls during a press conference  in Makati City on April 17.

Barely 27 days before the midterm election on May 13, Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (CMD) has released the final list of its senatorial line-up.

This is the result of straw voting of the executive committee of Lakas  on Wednesday  following the party's second seminar on legal and technical issues pertaining to the coming elections held at the Manila Golf and Country Club in Makati City.

Added to the list the party released last week are Vice Presidential daughter Nancy Binay, Sen.  Richard Gordon, former Rep. Cynthia Villar and Bro. Eddie Villanueva.

The candidates who were endorsed earlier were Team PNoy’s Aurora Rep. Edgardo “Sonny” Angara, Grace Poe, United Nationalist Alliance (UNA)’s Zambales Rep. Mitos Magsaysay, and San Juan City Rep. JV Ejercito.Cagayan Rep. Juan Ponce “Jack” Enrile and re-electionist Senator Gringo Honasan

Party President Martin Romualdez clarified that the two remaining slots would be the personal decision of local officials, even if the execom  had included Senator Loren Legarda, former Tarlac Governor Margarita “Tingting” Cojuangco, and former Senators Ernesto Maceda and Juan Miguel Zubiri in its list of "strongly recommended candidates."
  
“It’s the party consensus that we shall now also include in the list the names of  Binay,  Gordon, Villanueva and Villar,” Romualdez said during the press conference.

He also explained their party is giving their local leaders a chance to endorse two more senatorial candidates based on their own preference.

“We have left to the local leaders at least two remaining slots for their discretion. However, it has been the decision of the party leadership to strongly recommend for consideration and inclusion in the two remaining slots the following candidates: Cojuangco, Legarda,  Maceda and  Zubiri,” Romualdez stressed.

“That is the decision of the party leadership and we are proud to approve it in a week long  deliberations,” Romualdez added.
 
For his part, House Minority Leader and Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez who earlier disclosed that he would be supporting Bam Aquino maintained that his son has assured Aquino still enjoys support from their camp.

He  revealed that his son, re-electionist Quezon Governor Jayjay Suarez, will carry Aquino under the alliance of the Nationalist Unity Party (NUP) and Liberal Party (LP).

Poe is in
Romuladez also confirmed that Team PNoy senatorial candidate Grace Poe-Llamanzares has accepted the party's endorsement. Earlier news report said Poe  is “very surprised” that they would want to endorse her.

She made it clear, however,  that she wants Lakas chairman emiritus, the  former President Gloria Arroyo prosecuted even as she welcomed the endorsement of her party.

Arroyo, her late father’s opponent in the 2004 presidential elections, is now facing election offenses.

“For our country to achieve progress, we need to prosecute those who violated our laws,” Llamanzares, former chairman of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board, Llamanzarez said.

Llamanzares’ late father and highly-revered movie actor, Fernando Poe, Jr., lost to Arroyo in the 2004 presidential elections. He died of aneurysm less than a year after his loss in the presidential race.
   
Erap’s son too
Another peculiar choice of Lakas-CMD is  JV Ejercito, whose father, former President Joseph “Erap” Estrada was deposed and replaced by Arroyo in 2001 after a People Power initiative backed by the Catholic Church and the military.

“Any help is welcome, especially that I am in the opposition slate. I am grateful to other parties for their trust and confidence in my abilities,” the young Ejercito said.

Lakas-CMD is fielding 800 candidates for local positions such as governor, vice governor, mayor, vice mayor, councilors, board members, among others, for the May polls. The party is assured of 3.5 million voters according to Suarez.

Obviously missing in the Lakas' list of senatoriables is Sen. Chiz Escudero who is reportedly bent on his presidential bid come 2016. Lakas' chairman Ramon "Bong" Revilla, Jr. is also being groomed as the party's bet for presidency in the upcoming presidential election.

TEXT & PHOTO/S BY LEONY R. GARCIA

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