Kampi-CMD coaliltion party led by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is crumbling because of discontent within it, Lakas founder former House Speaker Jose de Venecia said Thursday. And analysts said this could also upset Arroyo's ambition to become leader of the lower house of Congress, which analysts say was part of her plan to retain political power after she steps down from office in June and head off any investigations of her administration. Her coalition controls 70-75 percent of seats in the lower house of Congress and local government positions nationwide. But the outgoing president's bid to use this base to secure the country's fourth-most senior political role were jolted this week by the resignation of three top party officials. “At the rate she is losing her allies, there's really no guarantee the president can become speaker of the House,” said Earl Parreno of the Institute for Political and Electoral Reforms. “Congress approves the budget, but the president gets to decide how these funds are disbursed and who gets what and who gets them first. Under this set-up, you expect lawmakers to change loyalty and all of them gravitate to the president. De Venecia, who used to be a staunch ally of Arroyo until their falling out over the corruption scandal involving Arroyo's husband Mike and a Chinese company, blamed Malacanang for the discontent within the ruling coalition party. He said it was a “divine punishment” for Arroyo's “treacherous acts” against the original members of Lakas party, that includes himself and former president Fidel Ramos. The former House speaker said the party problem was a result of Malacanang's decision to silently junk party standard bearer Teodoro Gilberto in favor of another candidate whom he did not identify but has been rumored to be Sen. Manuel Villar. The ruling Lakas-Kampi-CMD's presidential candidate Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro is a distant fourth in opinion polls. On Tuesday, he stepped down as party chairman to concentrate on campaigning for the May 10 elections. Wednesday, Sarangani Gov. Miguel Dominguez and Francis Manglapuz resigned as party president and secretary-general respectively, triggering talk of squabbling and disunity. “What has happened to our party?” Prospero Nograles, parliament's current speaker, asked as he campaigned for the position of mayor in the southern city of Davao. “The local troops are confused over this event.” Nograles is stepping down as speaker after the election. Three of Arroyo's powerful provincial allies – Luis “Chavit” Singson of northern Ilocos Sur, Pablo Garcia of the central Cebu island and Jose Zubiri of Bukidnon on the southern island of Mindanao – have already shifted their support to Villar, who ranks second in opinion polls for the presidency. Further defections are expected if Teodoro is unable to quickly lift his single-digit support levels, with Villar expected to be the main beneficiary. De Venecia said he and Ramos, a co-founder of Lakas, will reclaim leadership of the party next week. He said they will call original Lakas members to a meeting, elect a new leadership and endorse a presidential candidate, not necessarily be Teodoro. Despite having flu symptoms, Teodoro campaigned in Maasin, Southern Leyte Wednesday. He denied speculations that he quit as the Lakas-Kampi, CMD chairman because of conflict with Arroyo, reiterating that his sole motive in resigning his post was to focus on his presidential campaign. But reports said he did not inform Arroyo about his decision before announcing it publicly.
