Non-Catholic Church group pressures Poe, Lacson to unite

The influential non Catholic Church of Christ (INC) has hinted giving its support to incumbent President Gloria Arroyo if action star Fernando Poe Jr and opposition Senator Panfilo Lacson fail to unite and come up with one presidential candidate for the opposition.

"Do not blame us if we shift our support for the administration. We tried our best to give them warning, but if they fail, we have no other recourse but to support Arroyo," the Manila Times quoted a source from the INC as saying.

The INC has been a stalwart supporter of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos. Since his ouster by a people-backed military mutiny in 1986, the INC never supported the next anti-Marcos leaders such as former presidents Cory Aquino and Fidel Ramos.

Arroyo will be the first president who is allied with Aquino and Ramos, to be ever supported by the INC, which can command block voting from its estimated 4 million followers.

The INC became an active supporter of former president Joseph Estrada who was allied with the Marcoses. Poe and Lacson belong to the Estrada camp. Poe has been depending on the support of the Marcoses.

Estrada who hosted failed unification talks on his birthday last Monday said, "I still hope that the opposition will have only one candidate," adding the two contending opposition leaders should unite 'before it is too late' (for the May 10 polls).

Mike Romero, the spokesman of Poe's Coalition of Nationally United Pilipinos (KNP), said that unification talks between the two presidential candidates of the opposition were rescheduled.

"We can say that unity talks between the two will happen 100 per cent because both camps want it," he said, adding, "It's a wake-up call for opposition candidates to unite to ensure victory in the May polls."

"Only one opposition presidential candidate would run in the May 10 election," Romero predicted, following reports from other camps that Lacson was not interested in running as vice president.