Amid defections, Gibo, Edu declare 'Game na!' for 2010

Despite being battered by a number of defections, the administration Lakas-Kampi-CMD party on Thursday stood ground and declared that the tandem of Gilberto "Gibo" Teodoro Jr. and Eduardo "Edu" Manzano is ready to charge into the 2010 electoral battleground. Invoking the popular slogan of the game show "Game Ka Na Ba?" that he hosts, Manzano said"Ang tugon ko sa hamon ng pagkakataon ay... Game na!" signaling Lakas-Kampi's engagement into the polls as a "party of the future." "We stand for life, liberty, and prosperity. We stand for shared sacrifice. We stand for excellence," Teodoro told the thousands of national and local officials present at the party's national convention at the Philippine International Convention Center. "Tell them (the people) that we shall manage our future," Teodoro said. "Tell them that the victory of the Filipino people is the destiny of our party." Teodoro's wife, Tarlac Rep. Nikki Prieto-Teodoro, said the energetic Teodoro that rallied the Lakas-Kampi members during the convention was "the actual Gibo." "Before he was the hard-working Secretary [of the Defense department] and chair of NDCC (National Disaster Coordinating Council)," Prieto-Teodoro told reporters after the convention. "Now he is the Gibo for the people. Yan ang totoong Gibo (That is the real Gibo)." Teodoro can now give his full attention to his presidential campaign now that he has resigned as Defense chief, his wife added. Teodoro officially became the party's new chairperson during the event after President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo formally relinquished her post as chairperson to usher in a new generation of party leaders. Manzano, meanwhile, was named one of the two new vice chairmen of the administration party, replacing Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno and House Speaker Prospero Nograles. Misamis Oriental Governor Oscar Moreno was named the other vice chairman. Arroyo gives way In handing over her chairmanship of the party, Mrs. Arroyo said, "I am relinquishing today my post as national chairman and handing over the reins of the party's top leadership to the brilliant young standard bearer selected by our national executive committee, Gilbert Teodoro." "Let's transform Lakas-Kampi-CMD of the present to become the party of the future," she added. Without any objections, the 2,894 national and local officials present at the convention ratified the resolution that transferred the party's leadership to Teodoro. The resolution also stated that President Arroyo would be staying as Lakas-Kampi-CMD chairman emeritus. Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita also relinquished his post as party president to Sarangani Governor Miguel Dominguez. Ermita will remain as the chairman of the national advisory council of the party. Puno and Nograles, as well as party secretary general Gabriel Claudio, all gave up their party seats. However, the three will remain members of the national advisory board. The post vacated by Claudio, who is presidential political adviser, will be taken by Francis Xavier Manglapus. After the announcement of the change in leadership, the party then ratified - through national council resolutions 3 and 4- the nominations of Teodoro and Manzano as presidential and vice presidential bets, respectively. Lakas-Kampi's regional party leaders expressed their full support for Teodoro and Manzano's candidacies. President Arroyo expressed confidence that new roster of party leaders could help, saying: "With our selection of capable competent energetic leaders to lead us into the next generation, our national initiative to fight poverty and reach the first world [status] within the generation can succeed." Doomed Militant group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) belittled the transfer of leadership saying it could only do so much to salvage the party's "damaged image." "[It] will not stop defections and desertions. History is fast catching up with Mrs. Arroyo and her cohorts, way before the elections of 2010," said Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes. "Her party appears doomed to outright rejection by the people. The illusions of grandeur of Lakas-Kampi won't get them far," he added. Days before its national convention, the administration party saw the defection of a number of its key officials, who jumped the fence and went to the Liberal Party, which is pitting Sen. Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III against Lakas-Kampi's Teodoro. Genuine leaders Among the the latest government officials to leave the administration party are Batangas Gov. Vilma Santos and Quezon City Mayor Feliciano "Sonny" Belmonte. Taking a swipe at party defectors, Mrs. Arroyo also said Lakas-Kampi-CMD members who showed up at Thursday's convention proved to be the "genuine leaders" of the country. "[Sila] ay hindi nadala dito sa pamamagitan ng hakot," Mrs. Arroyo said. In her speech, Mrs. Arroyo also lashed at rival parties who feed on popularity to boost their chances in the upcoming 2010 polls, then took pride at the accomplishments of her administration. "At a time when other parties were succumbing to settling to the populist line, ours emerged vindicated by the resilience that our economy has demonstrated in the face of the global financial crisis," the President said. "Our sacrifices to achieve this results attest that indeed our party is the party that holds the nation's best interest at heart," she added.- GMANews.TV