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Sunday, March 14, 2004
Guingona joins FPJ camp
By Lizanilla J. Amarga and Benjamin B. Pulta
GINGOOG CITY -- Vice President Teofisto Guingona has formally announced his alliance with opposition presidential candidate Fernando Poe Jr. ahead of the May elections.
Malacaņang was quick to comment, "We hope he can clarify the platform of the opposition and encourage FPJ to join the debates now that he has an experienced adviser in the person of the VP (Guingona)."
Guingona's wife is also seeking a mayoralty seat in this city under the Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino (KNP) banner.
Guingona, 75, announced his support for movie star Poe at his residence here, saying he had made the move because "the nation must change".
"I also refuse to just stand by as Lakas-CMD bet Pres. Arroyo and her minions ravage our country," Guingona said.
In separate interviews, Poe, his vice-presidential running mate Senator Loren Legarda and KNP senatorial candidates Mayor Fred Lim, Juan Ponce Enrile, Boots Anson-Roa, Jamby Madrigal and Senator Aquilino Pimentel, Jr. all believe that Guingona's latest move would boost their campaign for the May Elections.
"Palagay ko dahil sa supporta ni (I believe that with the support of) Vice-President Guingona this would be one of the biggest step for unity," Poe said during a press conference here.
Guingona has been Arroyo's "chosen one" to stand in as her vice president after former president Erap Estrada was ousted.
The vice-president has been politically estranged from Arroyo and left her cabinet nearly two years ago over differences on national security issues, while staying on as vice president.
"FPJ (Poe's initials) has invited me to become his adviser on governance and public policy," Guingona said in a statement released at the rally, at which he joined Poe and Legarda on stage.
"I gave him the essence of a program of action by our civic movement. He adopted the same and based on said program, I have humbly accepted to become his adviser," he said.
"I do so mainly because almost everyone agrees that the nation must change, that the economic downturn must be reversed," Guingona said.
There was a need to stifle the "cauldron of corruption," he said, in an apparent reference to the present government.
Principled disagreements
Arroyo's spokesman Ignacio Bunye said Guingona's move had not been unexpected as "we have long known of the disagreements between the president and the vice president."
"There is no personal bitterness between the two and this is just a matter of differences in principle and their personal beliefs," Bunye said.
Malacaņang said "principled disagreements" between President Arroyo and Guingona left Arroyo unsurprised that Guingona would ally with the opposition in the coming May 2004 polls.
"We welcome the reported alliance between the Vice President and the opposition. This is not surprising as the Vice President and I have had principled disagreements and there has never been any rancor between us," Arroyo said in a statement Saturday.
Arroyo said Guingona, who had a falling out with Arroyo primarily over the administration's policies with the United States, should help top election bet Fernando Poe Jr. come up with a solid platform of government.
"In this election, it is not so much a matter of who joins whom, but what one has to say about the issues affecting the lives of the average Filipino. Everyday, I am bringing the issues to the people while the opposition seems to be caught in an endless storm of bickering and infighting," Arroyo said.
"The people deserve more than this from their claimed leaders. The people deserve service and enlightenment, not petty fights and recriminations," she added.
Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye echoed the President's sentiments in a radio interview Saturday morning.
He also said he doubts the veracity of reports that 56 pro-administration congressmen would follow Vice President Guingona and affiliate themselves with the opposition.
Poe, 64, invited Guingona to become one of his advisers in February and the vice president had already indicated he would accept.
Guingona's defection is the culmination of growing division between himself and Arroyo over the past two years centered on his criticism of the government's close security ties with the United States and its support for economic liberalization.
"FPJ asserts that he is his own man. If so, coupled with the right political will, he can chart a meaningful change to rebuild the nation under God," Guingona said.
Bunye said he hoped Guingona could convince Poe to take part in a debate of presidential candidates.
Poe has refused to debate other candidates, saying such debates are "divisive". Rival candidates charge that his refusal is proof he is unqualified for the job and has no grasp of the issues facing the country. With AFP
(March 14, 2004 issue)
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