NP-LP vs UNA in Laguna
LAGUNA, Philippines – He is used to facing a sea of yellow but on Thursday, October 8, it was a sea of blue that Liberal Party (LP) Manuel Roxas II faced in Calamba City during the oath taking of the Nacionalista Party (NP) in this province.
The two parties have coalesced – at least in the province of Laguna – for the 2016 national elections.
The NP is part of a broad LP-led coalition formed for the 2013 mid-term elections. The future of that coalition, however, remains unclear as parties continue deliberating on which presidential bet to support for 2016.
Roxas arrived in Calamba City Thursday afternoon with Las Piñas Representative Mark Villar, son of NP president and former senator Manny Villar. TESDA Director General Joel Villanueva, who is set to run for the Senate under the LP, was also present for the oath taking.
The NP-LP coalition in Laguna, among the most vote-rich provinces in the Philippines, will be fielding incumbent Governor Ramil Hernandez as its provincial standard-bearer for 2016.
For the national race, however, the NP has yet to decide if it will be coalescing with the LP or if it will be supporting Roxas in 2016. “That depends. We have to support our members. It depends [on who they want] to support,” Villar told reporters, when asked who the NP would be endorsing for president in 2016.
"This is for the Liberal and the Nacionalista uniting for the candidacy of Gov. Hernandez," added Villar, when asked if his presence meant the NP would be supporting Roxas' candidacy as well.
In speeches during the event, both Hernandez and Roxas thanked the LP's Edgardo San Luis – who, Roxas said, is a "close friend" of the President – for giving up his gubernatorial dreams to pave the way for the coalition.
San Luis was the ruling party's bet in the 2013 elections but he lost to former Laguna Governor ER Ejercito, who was, however, later disqualified in 2014 for overspending during the 2013 elections. Hernandez then took over as governor.
The NP-LP Laguna coalition was launched a week after the opposition United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) launched its down slate in the same city. UNA will be fielding Ejercito.
Speaking before his supporters, Hernandez hit Ejercito for allegedly spreading lies about him. Hernandez also accused Ejercito of stealing and misspending the province’s funds.
