Kampi-CMD party has been tossed in limbo after its chairman and standard-bearer former defense secretary Giberto Teodoro and two other top officials quit from their posts. Following Teodoro's resignation Tuesday, Lakas-Kampi president Miguel Dominguez and party secretary-general Francis Manglapus also quit their posts Wednesday. A source said Teodoro did not inform President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo of his decision to quit the party chairmanship before announcing it to the public. He resigned allegedly to focus on his campaign as presidential candidate and to enable the party to get a new chairman who could look after the concerns of the party members full time. For his part, Dominguez said he resigned to allow the next Lakas-Kampi chairman a free hand in choosing his replacement. A close friend of Teodoro, Dominguez is the incumbent governor of Sarangani province who is seeking a third term under the Sarangani Reconciliation and Reformation Organization (SARRO). His party has a tie-up with the Lakas-KAMPI-CMD. SARRO candidates face a huge challenge from the camp of boxing superstar turned politician Manny Pacquiao who heads the People's Champ Party (PCP), which in turn has tie ups with the Nacionalista Party (NP) of Senator Manny Villar. Although Teodoro, Dominguez, and Manglapus will remain as party members, their resignations left the administration party without top leaders ahead of the May 10 elections. A Malaca?ang official admitted being worried over the subsequent resignations in the administration party, a report aired over radio dzMM said. Deputy presidential spokesman Ricardo Saludo clarified that the issue with the party officials must not affect the rest of its members. He denied speculations that the resignations are linked to rumors that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has decided to support Nationalista Party Manuel Villar Jr. Prior to Teodoro's resignation, several key members of Lakas-Kampi-CMD like former Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis “Chavit” Singson and Bukidnon Gov. Jose Zubiri.threw their support behind Villar. Cebu City mayoralty candidate Alvin Garcia of the administration-allied Garcia clan, also forged an alliance with Villar last week along with members of the local opposition party, Kusug. House Speaker Prospero Nograles, former vice chairman of the party and now a member of its national advisory board, said he and other senior leaders of Lakas-Kampi-CMD were surprised by the resignations. “It is a shock to me and without consultation from us, the previous leaders of the party. (I) am now confused and seem to be out of the loop,” Nograles said in a text message about Teodoro's resignation. He echoed the same sentiments about Dominguez's move. “What has happened to our party? To each his own?” Nograles said in the same text message. “The local troops now are as confused [as I am] over this event,” added Nograles, who is running as mayor in Davao City against Sara Duterte, the daughter of his longtime political foe, incumbent mayor Rodrigo Duterte. Suarez said national leaders of the party like Teodoro and Dominguez could probably no longer attend to members' demands such as financial backing because they have their own campaigns to focus on. “You expect the dominant ruling majority who has enough machinery to make a president. Now if the order is support the national candidate, then equitably you (local candidates) must also expect some support [from the national leadership,” Suarez said. Asked to confirm Dominguez's resignation, Ronaldo Puno, a member of the party's national advisory board, said: “Maybe it's true.” Bobby Tuazon, director of Center for People Empowerment and Governance or CenPEG, said the resignations “might cripple the political machinery of the ruling coalition.” “We also have to connect the dots. Why are these happening after [Lakas-Kampi-CMD key members] shifted their allegiance to Manny Villar?” Bobby Tuazon said, adding that Dominguez's resignation will affect the morale of his party-mates. The Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino led by former President Joseph Estrada said Teodoro and Dominguez's resignations confirmed allegations that Villar was the administration's secret candidate. “It just confirms what we already knew from the start – that Villar is the true administration bet. This is literally Villar's ‘coming out' party…. Villar needs to confess to the Filipino people,” PMP spokesperson Ralph Calinisan said in a text message to GMANews.TV. Political analyst Ramon Casiple of the Institute for Political and Electoral Reform said that while Teodoro's resignation might initially boost his ratings because he has, in effect, distanced himself from Arroyo, it would work badly for him in the end because he might end up not getting enough party resources. “In another sense it's a bad move kasi you're cutting off yourself from the actual umbilical cord mo,” Casiple said. “When the local candidates see that there is no money coming from Gibo, why would they support his candidacy?” Casiple added.
