CLARK FREEPORT -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Thursday ordered the creation of a committee that will pursue the merger between Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD) and Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Kampi).

The National Consolidation and Unification Committee will oversee the merging of the political party with its allies like Kampi as she pushed for the administration groups to "fight side by side in 2010."

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The President said such a move, aside from political considerations, is in response to providing a unified government leadership that can meet the problems posed by the global economic crisis.

Speaking before the Lakas Expanded Executive Committee caucus at Holiday Inn hotel, Arroyo said the merger will also result in the consolidation of political moves for 2010.

“As intended, such a merger will result in an effective consolidation of political support for government’s programs for economic stability and social equity, now when it is most needed. It will also assure that we fight side-by-side in 2010,” Arroyo told members of the committee.

Among those present in the meeting were former president Fidel Ramos, Lakas chairman emeritus, and Speaker Prospero Nograles, Lakas party president.

Arroyo said Presidential Adviser on Political Affairs Gabriel Claudio, who said Lakas is confident that it can seal the merger soon, will lead the committee.

“We want to unite both parties to pull our resources together and create machinery that can respond to the challenges of governance,” Claudio said. He said the merger has been concluded in Southern Mindanao and Cordillera Administrative Region.

Nograles said the move will bring together 140 congressmen, 55 governors, 85 city mayors, 945 municipal mayors, and 7,000 vice governors, vice mayors, board members and councilors into one party.

He said the idea is to bring one candidate under the unified coalition for the presidential elections in 2010.

“The merger will certainly push through, the question is how many. There will be at least 10 to 15 percent who would oppose it and certainly these people would be noisy,” Nograles said.

According to Arroyo, the coalition would then be responsible in setting the criteria and mechanism for choosing the possible candidates for 2010.

Kampi president Representative Luis Villafuerte's claimed last Wednesday that Kampi no longer wants to merge with Lakas, a statement that earned bitter words from other administration big-wigs.

Claudio, in an ambush interview after the opening of the caucus, said they are hoping to complete the composition of the consolidating committee soon, citing that it shall include representatives from Congress and the Local Government Units among others.

Claudio is eyeing the merger of Lakas and Kampi at the national level, in particular, to happen within three months. "It is important to have the merger completed as soon as possible to be able to draw up the list of candidates starting by middle of the year."

He also expressed confidence that the merger is a "very doable exercise" citing there had been a merger already of the parties in at least two local or regional levels - the Cordillera Administrative Region and Davao Region.

Asked which would be the dominant or surviving party when the merger materializes, Claudio said it is likely to be Lakas.

Lakas is recognized by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) as the dominant, majority political party in the country at present, it has already been accepted and acknowledged by Kampi.

Claudio however declined to comment if the possible standard bearer of the merged parties, along with majority of the candidates for the different electoral, positions would come from Lakas.

He said it is also the reason why the merger must take place as soon as possible to avoid the fielding multiple candidates as what happened in the 2007 elections.

Lakas spokesman Prospero Pichay meanwhile acknowledged difficulties in merging the parties particularly in areas where the members of the two parties had in the past ran against each other or are supposed to run against each other in the forthcoming elections.

"It's not an easy job. It's a difficult job but definitely we just have to talk because she's (Arroyo) the leader of both parties. So these were actually her words that we have to unite so we'll be able to prepare for 2010," he said.

Pichay however said he is 80 percent confident that a merger would materialize especially after being endorsed by the President.

He added that the merger would ensure a bigger, if not a landslide, victory for the administration bets. (IOF/JMR/Sunnex)