Group: Arroyo allies sneaking back to power via LP

Allies of former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo are sneaking back to power through President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III's Liberal Party (LP), a poll watchdog group warned Tuesday night. Kontra Daya group made this warning amid reports that President Aquino and Arroyo were having separate meetings with their respective supporters to solicit support for each camp’s bid to corner the leadership of both houses of Congress. It said those who are sneaking into the LP even include hard-core Arroyo allies who had "arrogantly" blocked opposition to her administration. “Now, they are surreptitiously transferring to the Aquino administration by offering support to its speakership bet, Quezon City Rep. Feliciano Belmonte Jr.," Kontra Daya convenor Fr. Jose Dizon said in an article posted on the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines news site. “President Aquino and Representative Belmonte should be wary of these Arroyo minions who railroaded Charter change, participated in the unjust dismissal of the impeachment complaints against Arroyo and the Ombudsman, and forcibly whitewashed congressional investigations on the Garci scandal and the fertilizer funds scam and allowed the death of the Freedom of Information Bill, to return to power," he added. From Lakas-Kampi to LP Dizon said 22 of the 25 congressmen sworn in last June 25 as new LP members are from Arroyo's Lakas-Kampi-CMD. These include Reps. Florencio Miraflores, Rodolfo Valencia, Pangalian Balindong, Amado Bagatsing, Joaquin Nava, Arturo Robes, Herminia Roman, Marcelino Teodoro, Joseph Violago, Sergio Apostol, Maria Carmen Apsay, Jose Carlos Cari, Maximo Dalog, Rogelio Espina, Ben Evardone, Paolo Javier, Rene Relampagos, Jesus Sacdalan, Andres Salvacion, Mel Sarmiento, Eric Singson Jr., and Jerry Treñas. He said that while some are third- or second-termer congressmen, many are neophyte lawmakers who occupied other local government posts under the Arroyo administration. “They are known to have aggressively pushed for Arroyo’s Charter change bid," Dizon said, adding that Miraflores and Valencia are returning congressmen who voted against the impeachment complaints filed against Arroyo. “Even the die-hard pro-Arroyo party-list groups are paying homage to Belmonte and President Aquino even if they had been previously known to campaign for Arroyo’s speakership bid," he said. Dizon also noted several representatives of party-list groups known to be allied with Arroyo visited President Aquino at his residence and expressed support for him last June 15. These included Rodante Marcoleta of Alagad, Godofredo Arquiza of Senior Citizens, Catalina Leonen-Pizarro of ABS Party-list, Agapito Guanlao of Butil, and Nicanor Briones of the Agricultural Sector Alliance of the Philippines, who have all been elected to another term. “The shifting of loyalty can also be a ploy to protect Arroyo from investigations by the Lower House. These former Arroyo loyalists can move to scuttle any probe of Arroyo’s past misdeeds," Dizon said. Tuesday meetings In a meeting in Tagaytay City, President Aquino sought support from his allies in LP in the race to corner the leadership in both houses of Congress. A dzBB report early Wednesday said President Aquino sought support for Sen. Francis Pangilinan for Senate President and Rep. Feliciano Belmonte Jr. for House Speaker. Arroyo, meanwhile, attended a meeting of her Lakas-Kampi-CMD party lawmakers Tuesday night at the house of Rep. Martin Romualdez in Forbes Park in Makati City, the report said. Rep. Edcel Lagman, Lakas-Kampi-CMD bet for House Speaker, said at least 40 party members attended the meeting. — LBG/KBK, GMANews.TV