Arroyo bent on wrecking Liberal Party as allies are unseated

The successive removal of three Liberal Party-allied governors only shows that the Arroyo administration is bent on wrecking the Aquino-led party, a party official said Friday. "These incidents just show that the administration is afraid of the Liberal Party and has trained its guns on the LP and not the other political parties especially the NP," said Quezon Rep. Erin Tanada, LP spokesman, in a text message. Tañada made the statement a day after the Commission on Elections (Comelec) ruled that priest Ed Panlilio was unseated as the governor of Pampanga. [See: Panlilio ousted as Pampanga governor] The poll body's decision came a day after the poll body likewise declared that Bulacan Gov. Joselito Mendoza, also of LP, lost the recount to former Agrarian Reform Secretary Roberto Pagdanganan. [See: Pagdanganan-Mendoza standoff grips Bulacan"] In December last year, the Comelec also nullified the term of incumbent Isabela Governor Grace Padaca, who is also allied with the LP, in favor of former governor Benjamin Dy, who contested the results of the 2007 elections. [See: Comelec unseats Padaca as governor of Isabela] Tañada said LP gubernatorial bet Abraham Kahlil Mitra's disqualification from the gubernatorial race in Palawan was also "suspicious" as Mitra, an incumbent congressman, is "popular and respected in Palawan." Recent events indicate that there may be truth in rumors that the NP, whose standard bearer Senator Manuel Villar Jr. is LP presidential bet Senator Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III's closest rival, is the "closet" party of the Arroyo administration, the LP spokesman said. "Have you heard the NP criticize the administration regarding good governance? Maybe there is truth in calling the NP the 'closet' party of the administration," Tanada said. "Who knows, maybe sometime before the election, the NP will come out of the 'closet.'" National candidates of the LP are currently in Iloilo, the hometown of party chairman and senatorial bet Franklin Drilon, for the second leg of their nationwide electoral campaign. The party kicked off the official campaign period last Tuesday in Tarlac, Aquino's home province. [See: Noynoy seeks God's help at campaign kick-off in Tarlac] The candidates began the day with a press conference where Drilon alleged that Villar facilitated the conversion of prime rice lands in Oton town so he could build a subdivision. [See: LP: Villar converted rice lands for Iloilo subdivision] Afterwards, the LP entourage campaigned in the local markets of Sta. Barbara and Pototan towns, then held sorties in the gyms of Dumangas and Leganes towns. With over 1.1 million registered voters, Iloilo is one of the top 10 most vote-rich provinces in the country. The province’s current governor is Niel Tupas Sr., an LP stalwart. The current Iloilo City Mayor Jerry P. Treñas, a NP candidate, is eyeing a congressional seat. In the 2004 presidential elections, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo handily won over Fernando Poe Jr. with more than 500,000 votes compared to Poe's more than 80,000. Villar is rumored to be the "secret" candidate of administration party Lakas-Kampi, but party officials insist that President Arroyo is supporting the candidacy of administration standard bearer former Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. - RJAB Jr., GMANews.TV