Lakas exodus continues: Belmonte moves to LP

A Metro Manila mayor who is also a ranking official of the ruling Lakas-Kampi-CMD party will be among the latest additions to the roster of the Liberal Party (LP), which is fielding Senator Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" Aquino III as its standard bearer in next year’s elections. Quezon City Mayor Feliciano "Sonny" Belmonte, senior vice-president for external affairs of Lakas-Kampi-CMD, will take his oath as LP member on Thursday morning at the Amoranto Stadium, according to LP campaign manager Florencio "Butch" Abad. "[He] will have his oath-taking tomorrow, along with other local government officials from the provinces of Palawan, Bataan and Bulacan," Abad told GMANews.TV in a phone interview. Also joining the ranks of the LP on Thursday are incumbent Quezon City Vice Mayor Herbert Bautista, and Belmonte’s daughter Joy. The oath taking ceremony will coincide with the national convention of the Lakas-Kampi-CMD at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) where the tandem of Gilberto Teodoro Jr. and Edu Manzano will be formally proclaimed. Abad said Bautista would be formally proclaimed as LP’s Quezon City mayoralty bet, with the younger Belmonte as his running mate, after their oath-taking. The elder Belmonte, a former House Speaker, will seek the congressional post in the city's fourth district. The defection of Belmonte is seen to boost further Aquino's bid for the presidency since Quezon City accounts for nearly 1 million voters out of the 5.4 million registered voters in Metro Manila as of July 2009. The elder Belmonte had served in various government posts during the term of Noynoy's mother, the late President Corazon Aquino, among them as president and general manager of the Government Service and Insurance System (GSIS). Among those who had earlier abandoned Lakas-Kampi-CMD were former Senator Ralph Recto and his wife, Batangas governor Vilma Santos. [See: Ralph Recto, Vilma Santos latest LP recruits] The defections occurred as Aquino, son of the late President Aquino and slain Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr., continues to dominate presidential surveys while Teodoro languishes behind. [See: Pulse Asia: Noynoy most favored presidential bet] - GMANews.TV