MANILA -- A Lakas-Kampi-Christian Muslim Democrats (CMD) official admitted Sunday that there had been a lot of defections at the local level and these are just natural.

Presidential adviser for political affairs and Lakas-Kampi secretary general Gabriel Clauido said they are expecting more defections in the coming days but he is confident these would not affect the chances of victory for the administration party.

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He denied that the defections could be considered a massive exodus, as other political leaders are also joining the party.

“True, there have been defections among local officials and there may even be more. But these are natural and expected consequences of party intramurals and fall-outs from the party’s selection process for local candidates,” he said.

“Those not chosen or will imminently not be chosen will naturally seek shelter with other political parties or other presidential bets," he added.

Claudio said the defections do not leave a void at the local level, but have, in fact, helped in resolving possible conflicts arising from having many candidates jockeying for one position.

He said the bolting out of other members has left behind “only the loyal and usually stronger” candidates with the administration party.

He said it also helped Lakas-Kampi-CMD shed off “excess weight” enabling the administration party to enter the political arena with its “leaner, meaner and in its best fighting form.”

“It’s what you might call arbitration by attrition. These defections are actually doing us a favor. The positive result of these defections is that the administration party will have single, solid and formidable lineups of candidates at the local level who will not be distracted by internal conflicts,” he added.

Reports said that several Lakas-Kampi members are already bolting the administration to join other parties, like the Nacionalista Party (NP) of Senator Manuel “Manny” Villar Jr. and the Liberal Party (LP) of Senator Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III.

Administration allies that have been supportive of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her programs have also joined other parties instead of the Lakas-Kampi, like Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim and Cavite Governor Irineo “Ayong” Maliksi.

Claudio, acknowledging this, said Lim and Maliksi, who were cited as two major defectors to the Liberal Party (LP), are not and have not been a Lakas or Kampi member, so it’s of no consequence to the administration.

He said Maliksi was originally with LP, while Lim was from the Partido ng Masang Pilipino. (JMR/Sunnex)