Indeed, politics breeds strange bedfellows. Former Senators Sergio “Serge” Osmeña III and Ralph Recto aren’t exactly on speaking terms, but the two could find themselves in the same boat in their campaign for reelection on May 10.
The Liberal Party (LP) has split its senatorial ticket into two six-member teams to ensure maximum presence in 80 provinces in the 90-day campaign period.
LP leaders, however, have surprisingly lumped Osmeña and Recto, who genuinely hate each other, in the same team.
Recto has been designated as point man of the antipoverty team with Osmeña under his wing. Former Senate President Franklin Drilon is head of the anticorruption team.
“I have no problem being with him on the same boat, I’m a team player,” Recto said in a phone interview. Recto reckoned that he was picked because of his economic expertise to head the ticket’s antipoverty team.
In a phone interview, Osmeña, one of the key political strategists in the early campaign for president of Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III and his running mate Sen. Mar Roxas, said he was going solo on his senatorial bid just like he did in 2001.
“Traveling alone means traveling faster. But I am campaigning for Noynoy and Mar and a mix of senators. Don’t ask me who,” he said.
Grouping based on advocacy
Recto and Osmeña have yet to talk to each other since Osmeña decided to decamp last November because he did not agree with the party leaders’ decision to accept Recto, a former director general of the National Economic and Development Authority in the Arroyo administration.
Recto steered the passage of the value-added tax law that doomed his reelection bid in 2007 under the administration senatorial Team Unity.
Sen. Francis Pangilinan, LP senatorial campaign manager, does not see any kinks in the grouping as Osmeña has already been allowed to campaign separately as a guest candidate.
Pangilinan stressed that the grouping was based on the candidates’ advocacy.
“We believe that corruption and poverty are the two key issues of the 2010 campaign,” said Pangilinan who aimed to bring the LP’s message to the remotest places in the country.
Members of the anticorruption team are Bukidnon Rep. Teofisto Guingona III, Akbayan party-list Rep. Risa Hontiveros, retired Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim (represented by his wife), lawyer Alexander “Pinoy” Lacson and women’s right advocate Jasmin Busra-Lao.
With Recto and Osmeña in the antipoverty team are former Bukidnon Rep Neric Acosta, Muntinlupa Rep. Ruffy Biazon, Sonia Roco and Dr. Martin Bautista.
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