Whatever their partisans may say, the desertion of key Liberal Party leaders in the House of Representatives and their new alliance with the administration Lakas-Kampi-CMD was a bad preview of the things to come to the Noynoy-Mar candidacies.

That the defection came in the wake of the reconciliation effort being pursued by the warring LP factions of Secretary Lito Atienza of the environment department and former Senate President Frank Drilon gives the new development a more unfortunate dimension.

The fear is that it could be the start of a mass exodus of more LP members to other political parties who feel betrayed by Senator Roxas’ decision to abandon his presidential candidacy without consulting them.

Worse, many LP partisans have voiced disapproval of Mar Roxas’ acceptance of Noynoy Aquino’s invitation to be his vice-presidential running mate, again without discussing the matter with them.

Long time LP leaders have also been reported smarting from the attitude of Roxas’s faction members who continued to ignore them on important issues, including proposals to meet with them to iron out differences for reconciliation and unity of the Liberal Party.

As may be recalled, Atienza had repeatedly called on the Drilon faction to seriously consider a unification meeting but the effort became hopeless when Drilon himself told Atienza to stop the gambit: Drilon does not consider the Atienza group as an LP faction.

The fact is that the LP leadership now under Senator Roxas maintains that those who bolted the Liberal Party were not in reality LP members as they were all the time identified with the Arroyo administration.

LP spokesman Rep. Erin Tanada has said the defection of the eight Congress leaders “has no bearing with the LP.”

Of the eight congressmen who defected to Lakas-Kampi-CMD, Tanada said only Rep. Glenn Chong of Biliran who was an LP member. He wished him “good luck.”

The other solons who have left the Liberal Party and are now supporting the Lakas-Kampi-CMD presidential standard bearer Gilberto Teodoro Jr. are Congressmen Rodolfo Valencia of Oriental Mindoro, Jose Antonio Roxas of Pasay City, Magtanggol Guinigundo of Valenzuela, Alvin Sandoval of Malabon and Navotas, Reynaldio Uy of Western Samar, Mitzi Cajayon of Caloocan, and Rafael Chungalao of Ifugao.

They have taken their oath of membership to the Lakas-Kampi-CMD Friday last week.

In abandoning the Liberal Party, the House LP leaders appeared disturbed and resentful over the inability of party leaders to effect unification of the warring factions of Drilon and Atienza.

“We believe that the administration has more definition and less uncertainty,” declares Congressman Guinigundo who bewailed the LP’s total lack of party leadership.

Another reason cited by the former LP stalwarts in their own bailiwicks was their “confidence in Teodoro’s ability to lead given his excellent academic background and strong political will.”

“Gibo has all it takes to become the next President,” Guinigundo said.

The defecting Congress leaders were vocal that their defection to Lakas-Kampi-CMD had the blessings of Lito Atienza, president of the LP wing.

If so, what politics is this?

It may well be “agitational politics.” (zhern_218@yahoo.com)