Palace denies Lakas, Kampi merger a ploy to extend Arroyo term

Malacañang on Wednesday branded as “speculations" the statement of former Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr that the merger of the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD) and the Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Kampi) is part of the ploy to extend President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's term beyond 2010. Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, who is also Lakas-CMD regional chairman for Southern Tagalog, said extending Mrs Arroyo's term would require an amendment to the Constitution and those efforts for Charter change had failed. “Sapantaha lang iyan ng ibang tao. Haka-haka lamang iyan (It’s only an imagination of some people)," Ermita said. De Venecia said Mrs Arroyo only wants to accumulate more power. He did not elaborate on how Mrs Arroyo plans to stay beyond 2010. Mrs Arroyo during the Lakas-CMD national directorate meeting endorsed the merger of Lakas and Kampi, which she said would turn the ruling party into a "colossus" and ensure the victory of its candidate in the 2010 presidential elections. De Venecia has called the merger a "kiss of death" for Lakas and said about "70 percent" of Lakas members would surely oppose the merger, knowing Kampi is a "party of the Arroyos" and of "power and money." - GMANews.TV