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NP-NPC Coalition not real 'opposition' party, LP spokesman says


The Liberal Party (LP) asserted on Tuesday that the Nacionalista Party (NP)–Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) Coalition (NP-NPC Coalition) should not be accredited as the dominant minority party in the May 2010 elections because it is not the “real" opposition party in the country. The NP-NPC Coalition “is allied with a number of administration parties," LP campaign manager Florencio "Butch" Abad told reporters after the Comelec held a hearing for the NP-NPC accreditation. “How can they dutifully and legitimately represent the opposition in this country if their [membership in the opposition] is under question," he added. LP, NP-NPC Coalition, and the Puwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) are all vying for the poll body’s nod to become the dominant minority party in May. Upon securing accreditation, the dominant minority party will be entitled to the sixth copy of the election returns (ERs) and a server where results can be monitored instantly as they come in. As a result, watchers of the dominant minority party will a copy of the ER receipt, giving “confidence that voting in that precinct went in a regular way," Abad said. The NP-NPC coalition was only formed to meet the poll body’s requirement that the dominant minority party should field the most number of candidates in the national and local elections, Abad added. The LP will be fielding 5,934 candidates in the May polls with Senator Benigno “Noynoy" Aquino III as the standard bearer while NP will be fielding 5,565 and NPC 2,373 with Senator Manuel “Manny" Villar as its presidential bet, Comelec records show. "Kulang talaga (They lack members), they don't have the numbers," said the LP campaign manager. He went on to say that 15 congressional districts have both NP and NPC candidates facing off against each other. The same is true in 13 provinces where both parties fielded gubernatorial and vice gubernatorial candidates against each other and in 170 municipalities where both parties' mayoralty and vice mayoralty bets are up against each other. Moreover, the LP said that not all the NPC stalwarts and candidates support Villar's candidacy. "What this absurdity clearly shows is that the basis for a genuine partnership between the NP and NPC does not and cannot exist," said Abad. Both the NP and NPC are registered as individual political parties with the Comelec. But LP said that the coalition was formed only last January 28, six months after the deadline for registration of political parties — which is August 17, 2009. The poll body has yet to decide on the petition for accreditation. It is set to conduct another hearing next week. In the meantime, administration party Lakas-Kampi-CMD has likewise filed a petition for accreditation as the dominant majority party, which is entitled to the fifth copy of the ERs. Lakas-Kampi claims to have a total of 10,418 incumbent members. Republic Act 9369 or the amended Poll Automation Law requires the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines to print 30 copies of the ERs, which indicate the election results at the precinct level. - RJAB Jr., GMANews.TV

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