Villar: NP now more formidable
The Nacionalista Party (NP) is now seeing an unprecedented surge in the number of its members, growing ten-fold since the start of this year under the leadership of party president Sen. Manny Villar.
“I took an oath to reclaim the old glory of the Nacionalista Party and recapture its rich history of unparalleled greatness. Today, I can safely say we are on the right path towards that goal,” Villar, the party’s standard-bearer next year, said in a statement.
The senator revealed that from just a few members early this year, the NP’s membership has swelled to more than 6,000.
“This continues to grow by the day as our leaders begin to recognize the party’s stability as an organization and its firm resolve to fight poverty through genuine reforms,” he explained.
Villar said the NP is the only party in the country today that can claim to have done more in shaping the country by immensely influencing the course of political history.
“This great party had produced six past presidents and thousands of great leaders over a period of more than a century. The ideals and principles that guide the Nacionalista Party up to now are founded on doctrines of independence,” he said.
“We continue to take the side of the oppressed, the masses, the workers, the poor and the dispossessed. This, I believe, is one of the reasons we are growing bigger by the day.”
Last month was a productive one for NP’s efforts to enlist more members, as national and local leaders take oaths of membership with the party almost every day, sometimes by the hundreds.
The latest of these mass oath-takings with the NP was held on Nov. 23 where some 700 incumbent officials from areas across the country swore allegiance to the party in a simple ceremony at the Laurel House in Mandaluyong City.
Just a few days before that, some 200 grassroots leaders in Batangas took their oath as new members of the party last Nov. 21 in the town of Sto. Tomas.
“These defections can only mean one thing: 2010 will be a great year for the Nacionalista Party. With our political stock continuously growing, I am confident we can relive the greatness of the Grand Old Party once again,” Villar said.
Noynoy to block ‘Speaker’ Gloria
If elected president, Senator Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III said he will use his power to block ‘Congresswoman’ Gloria Macapagal Arroyo from becoming Speaker of the House of Representatives.
“If we’re both elected, I don’t think there’s great danger. I have studied her in the past nine years. I’ve seen how she has used her power to advance her agenda. We will have the same influence. We will utilize the same power to ensure that we will have a solid majority within the House of Representative to advance the agenda that seeks to install reforms and put us in the rightful place under the sun,” Aquino said on ANC’s Harapan, a presidential debate held last Thursday.
President Arroyo filed her certificate of candidacy (CoC) for the 2nd congressional district of Pampanga. She is the first Philippine president to seek a lower post while still in power.
Critics fear she plans to become House Speaker and lead Congress into changing the Constitution. They claim that her end goal is to convert the system of government to a parliamentary one, which would give her another shot at returning to power as prime minister.
Aquino believes President Arroyo wants to become Speaker so she can have leverage to negotiate with the next President on the criminal cases that may be filed against her.
Aquino also raised the specter of partial failure of elections where only the House of Representatives is constituted. This scenario has been raised by the critics of full automation of the May 2010 elections. Despite repeated reassurances from the Comelec, they have warned of electoral sabotage through widespread failure of the counting machines.
“The danger happens if somehow, only congressmen are elected and there’s no Senate that is constituted and there is no vice president and president. If that is the scenario, I will pledge in front of everyone today that I will again stand up and I will oppose any measure that they will deem fit to try to extend their powers beyond what is embodied in our Constitution. That I pledge my whole being to,” he added. [PR]
