Noynoy rejects Leftist Senate bets

Negotiations for an alliance between the Liberal Party (LP) and Leftist partylist lawmakers collapsed on Wednesday night when LP presidential bet Sen. Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” C. Aquino III virtually rejected the inclusion of Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo and Gabriela Rep. Liza Maza in the LP senatorial slate.

Together with their advisers, Aquino and Ocampo met Wednesday night to discuss proposals for an alliance in the 2010 elections but the discussions ended with the senator informing the former National Democratic Front (NDF) spokesperson that the list of “applicants” to the LP senatorial list is more than double the number of slots available.

“Mukhang remote na magkasama kami,” Ocampo told reporters during the Usaping Balita News Forum in Quezon City.

Ocampo, however, aired the belief that Aquino is still harboring a grudge over disagreements between the Left and the Aquino family in the past, including the massacre of farmers at Hacienda Luisita which was blamed on the Aquino-Cojuangco families.

The Hacienda Luisita issue was resurrected recently but, this time, the controversy included the alleged overpricing of land bought by the government from the family of Aquino in connection with the construction of the multi-billion-peso Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) project.

Ocampo, deputy minority leader of the House, said the senator could likewise be holding rancor over the opposition aired by certain Leftist groups against the Nobel peace prize nomination of his now deceased mother, former President Corazon C. Aquino.

“Isa sa mga sama ng loob ni Noynoy ay noong nagkaroon ng piket sa Hacienda Luisita.  But it was I who intervened and asked the protesters to withdraw,” he said.

Ocampo said their group would likely back Nacionalista Party (NP) presidential standard bearer Sen. Manuel B. Villar Jr. in 2010.