SENATORIAL BETS SPURNING INCUMBENT PRESIDENT AND
COURTING OUSTED PRESIDENT UNPRECEDENTED IN RP

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Nene Q. Pimentel, Jr. (PDP-Laban) today said the difficulty being encountered by the administration in forming a winnable and credible 12-man senatorial slate reflects the continuing public distrust for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo due to doubts over the legitimacy of her rule and the unresolved controversies that have rocked the government since she came to power.

Pimentel said it is quite embarrassing for the Palace that even senators whom it considers its allies and who won through the Presidents help have spurned her overtures to join the administration ticket but instead prefer to join forces with the opposition.

This, he said, is not only a big slap on Malacañang but also indicates that something is terribly wrong with the Arroyo administration.

In contrast, Pimentel observed that senatorial aspirants of diverse political persuasions have been trekking to Tanay, Rizal to court the endorsement of former President Joseph Estrada for their candidacies.

In my long life in politics, this is a phenomenon that I am witnessing happening in the country for the first time. It is the fact that here is a former president, who is behind bars technically speaking, who is being deluged with people seeking his blessing, he said.

And here is an incumbent president who could not even seem to complete a senatorial slate at this point. So you can see here a big disparity in the appreciation of the people regarding this matter.

Normally, he said there should be a mad scramble for senatorial slots of the administration camp specially in a mid-term election like the forthcoming one, because it has the resources or logistics to provide for its candidates and to make them win.

Pimentel said the excessive number of aspirants jostling to be included in the senatorial ticket has caused a king-sized headache for the united opposition, the major pillars of which are Partido ng Masang Pilipino, PDP-Laban and a faction of the Nationalist Peoples Coalition.

However, he expressed the hope the united opposition will be able to put up a strong senatorial lineup without causing a split in its ranks.

Pimentel said that while the emergence of a so-called third force with its own senatorial team is theoretically possible, the history of third force in senatorial elections in the country has been very dismal.