Party-list groups to meet with Noynoy on Luisita, possible 2010 alliance

A coalition of party-list groups is set to talk with Sen. Benigno Simeon “Noynoy" Aquino III to try to settle differences on the Hacienda Luisita issue and to discuss a possible alliance in 2010, a party-list representative said Thursday. Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo said that the newly-formed Makabayan coalition will talk with Aquino on Tuesday to clarify the senator’s stand on Hacienda Luisita and agrarian reform. Bayan Muna, Anakpawis, and women’s party-list group Gabriela are among the groups that compose the coalition. “For us, it is very important to know Senator Aquino’s stand on the agrarian reform because he is aspiring for the presidency," Ocampo said. Meanwhile, Bayan Muna Rep. Teodoro Casiño said they see the importance of meeting with Aquino because he is one of the most “winnable" opposition candidates for president in 2010. “We hope we can find common points in our platforms so we can help each other in the coming elections," said Casiño who is BM’s first nominee for the party-list group's representation. On the other hand, Ocampo said his party has been trying to talk with the Aquino camp since May this year, but their requests were met with cold shoulders. “When Noynoy expressed his intention to run for president, we already expressed our willingness to talk with him, but the feedback was not warm. It was said that Noynoy felt bad about our handling of the Hacienda Luisita issue," Ocampo said. Ocampo said that he hopes Aquino will set his personal feelings aside when they talk about the issue next week. “We do not consider him as the enemy. We have a common enemy that we both have to fight, and that is the incumbent administration," Ocampo added. Militant organizations have earlier challenged Aquino to solve issues in the Cojuangco-owned Hacienda Luisita, which was spared from actual distribution to farmer-beneficiaries of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program during the presidency of the senator’s mother, Corazon Aquino. [See: Noynoy urged to solve Luisita issue first] Aquino expressed his intention to give up his rights over the 6,435-hectare sugar plantation to spare himself from politicking, days after he announced in early September his intention to run for president. Ocampo said that once Aquino and the Makabayan coalition have settled their differences on the Hacienda Luisita issue, the possibility of an alliance in 2010 between both camps will likewise be discussed. The Bayan Muna representative said that although he and his coalition have been talking to other political parties as well, it is still possible for him and Gabriela Rep. Liza Maza to serve as guest candidates in LP’s senatorial lineup for 2010 if both camps could agree on a common platform. “We just want to have the right basis for this effort to coordinate with them. It is our wish that they study our platforms and respond to these so we could understand each other," he said. - GMANews.TV