Ruling party headed for break up

MANILA - Fifty original members of the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD), led by its founders former President Fidel Ramos and former House Speaker Jose De Venecia Jr., "regrouped" on Tuesday and declared that the party is still "reigning."

They also asserted that its merger with the Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Kampi) in May 2009 was "illegal and null and void."
 
A statement released to lower House reporters said the group met at the Makati residence of de Venecia. They passed a resolution reaffirming former President Ramos as the chairman emeritus and de Venecia as the party president.
 
Ramos earlier rejected an offer to become chairman emeritus of the merged party, Lakas-Kampi-CMD. (Read: FVR rejects ruling party post)

De Venecia's motion before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to reject Lakas-Kampi-CMD's application for accreditation as a political party is also pending.
 
The other original Lakas-CMD members present in the meeting were former Senators Leticia Ramos-Shahani and Santanina Rasul, Ildefonso Remolona, Luis Lagdameo, Lakas treasurer Tony Vilar, deputy Lakas secretary-general Luis Corral (APEC), and UE law school dean Amado Valdez.
 
Former Congressmen Toti Cariño (Pasig), Jose Tan Ramirez (Samar), Bert Lumauig (Cordillera), Mars Pineda (Pampanga), and Bojie Cabochan (Bulacan) were also present.
 
Other attendees were Bert Zipangan (Isabela), retired Col. Willy dela Cruz (Veterans), columnist Chit Pedrosa, MD Rebueno, Freddie Jalasco, Ed Malay, Felipe Siapno, Teddy Manaois, Malvar Rama, June Battung, Mary Ann Robles, Fernando Peña, Boy Saycon, and Wainright Rivera.
 
"On moral and strongest legal grounds, the Lakas petition is an open and shut case since the merger was not approved or ratified by the Lakas National Assembly as called for in the Lakas-CMD Constitution," Valdez, the party's legal counsel, said.
 
Valdez also said the election of Lakas officials on March 10, 2008 at the Manila Hotel was illegal.
 
It was then that de Venecia was ousted as president of Lakas-CMD after a falling out with President Arroyo over the US$329 million National Broadband Network (NBN) deal with Chinese company, ZTE Corp..
 
His son, Jose De Venecia III, a losing bidder in the government project, testified on the First Couple's involvement in the allegedly controversial deal. 
 
To coalesce with other parties

The group also said it would coalesce with other parties to choose the next president, one who must lead the battle against corruption and poverty.
 
"The conference created a committee headed by de Venecia to review the political situation and recommended the best political parties to ally with and nominate a candidate for President who must lead the battle against corruption and poverty and implement the United Nation's 8-point Millennium Development Goals," the group said.
 
Ramos also upheld the international character of Lakas-CMD due to its membership in the global Christian Democrats International (CDI), which is composed of more than 110 Christian Democratic parties, including the parties of Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
 
The group also upheld the position of de Venecia as the vice-president of CDI, chairman of CDI Asia-Pacific, and chairman of the International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP). -- by Carmela Fonbuena, abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak