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'Kampi-Kampihan'
by Gladstone A. Cuarteros •
Friday, Jul. 30, 2004 at 10:30 PM
From ‘weather-weather’ during the short-lived Erap administration, we are now into ‘Kampi-kampihan’. Side by side with real-life teleserye of Angelo de la Cruz abduction by Iraqi militants is the jockeying for committee chairmanships by the different political groups in the House of Representatives. Luckily for our congressmen the greater focus given to Angelo de la Cruz provided an invisibility cloak on their trapo ways of wheeling and dealing. But unlike the Angelo de la Cruz drama, which had a happy ending the way most Filipinos wanted it to be, we are uncertain whether the seven political groups in the House will all be happy in the end.
When the election dust settled it was clear that K-4 coalition gained sweeping majority in the House of Representatives and the Senate. The member-parties in the coalition strengthened their hold of Congress with Lakas-CMD winning almost a hundred seats while the Liberal Party increased to thirty-one seats in the House of representatives. In addition to this number are the fifty-six members of the Nationalist People’s Coalition, which had a standing cooperation with Lakas-CMD in the House of Representatives. At the Senate, K-4 got the upper hand: winning seven of the twelve available seats compared to the five slots won by the KNP. With these numbers, many believe that both Speaker Jose de Venecia and Senate President Franklin Drilon are in full control of their respective ‘Houses’.
However weeks before the opening of the 13th Congress, fissures within the administration coalition started manifesting as if reminding the curse of the number 13. Like a zombie, Kabalikat ng Mamayang Pilipino (Kampi), the political party founded by President Arroyo that not so significant during the elections resurrected, gaining strength and bringing chills to JDV. As such, a new political term is becoming part of our daily language. The ‘shut-up’ during the national canvassing has to give way to ‘term-sharing’, which is Venecia’s solomonic response addressing competing groups vying for chairmanship of key congressional committees.
The strengthened Kampi is the newest power-block backing President GMA. Rep. Ronnie Puno who helped in the electoral success of three succeeding Presidents (Ramos, Estrada and GMA), once again proved his worth as a political operator. From four members in the House of Representatives, Kampi already counts 77 members, recruiting primary from the ranks of Lakas-CMD a supposed to be JDV support base. As if to further frighten JDV, two days ago it sealed alliance with the Liberal Party whose members got frustrated from JDV’s failure to deliver on his earlier commitments to them and instead giving-out key committees to the NPC.
History tells us it is not the first time in Philippine politics where the party of the President becomes the dominant one. In fact it became the practice during President Manuel Roxas’ time. However in the case of PGMA, her K-4 coalition already has the majority in Congress and that her allies need not switch parties because she is the head of all three political parties making-up the K-4 coalition anyway. So can we say Kampi revival again reminiscent of PGMAs ‘segurista’ attitude?
Many believe that GMA can easily stop Ronnie Puno and his group if she wants to. She did rebuke them when she heard of it the first time, but the fact that she isn’t dissuading them after that means more than what she needs to say. Perhaps she agrees with the messages Kampi wanted sent to JDV. Kampi members explain their objective is to push for the 10 point agenda of the President in the legislative mill. They want to advocate for reforms in 13th Congress, they say. But with Ronnie Puno as the party head such claim could raise people’s eyebrows one inch higher. The man is the quintessential political operator. He was rewarded the Department of Interior and Local Government portfolio in the Estrada presidency remember? Yet is there anyone who could remember the reforms he initiated there? Maybe we should ask the loquacious come-backing senator Miriam Santiago.
What is unsaid is much more interesting. Apparently behind Kampi revival is the motive of having JDV in check. Kampi supports charter change through a constitutional convention while JDV could not discard his affection for constituent assembly. The difference in the mode that charter change should take lies the message that JDV better not insist of his ConAss project especially since it may result in limiting PGMA’s fresh term only until 2007. As of now, it seems JDV is already paying for his stubborn ConAss position because Lakas-CMD became the fertile ground for Kampi recruitment.
Yet Kampi members are also candid enough to admit that they likewise wanted a more equitable distribution of committee chairmanships. While in the past the speaker has a free hand in selecting committee chairmen, it will not be business as usual, they say. With Lakas, Liberal Party, Kampi, Nacionalista Party, NPC and even party-list groups all competing for positions, it will be better to share equitably. But then it is a balancing act where there will always be disgruntled parties. Thus considering that most of Kampi recruits are on their first-term, what they are doing is simply muscle-flexing.
As of Thursday night, the Speakership is already in JDV’s bag after PGMA herself, proclaimed in a party her son Rep. Mikey Arroyo hosted, that JDV will remain the House Speaker for the fourth time. Indeed an exceptional feat for the veteran politician! But not after reading what we see everday in our cellular phones, ‘message sent’.
Democracy Watch Department
Institute for Popular Democracy
http://www.ipd.ph/
