What’s bothering the ruling Lakas-Kampi-CMD?

A day after its presidential bet, Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro Jr., quit as party chairman, two more key party officials also tendered their resignation.

Saranggani Gov. Miguel Rene Dominguez said he resigned as party national president to give Teodoro's successor a free hand in choosing his own set of party officials, while Francis Manglapus gave up his post as secretary general.

Despite the resignations, it’s still business as usual at Lakas.

“It’s business as usual. The resignations have yet to be accepted by the national executive committee,” declared Deputy Secretary General Ray Roquero, upon hearing the news about the resignations.

Roquero said a national executive committee meeting will be called next week to act on the resignations and decide on what action to take to fill the vacancies.

“Local leaders are emboldened now to campaign harder to help Gibo win. The party has 12,891 of the more than 17,000 candidates running for local posts now, all of them will push for Gibo presidency,” said Roquero.

Attorney Mike Toledo, campaign spokesperson of Gibo and director of the Team Gibo Media Bureau, said Dominguez officially tendered his resignation to the officials of Lakas-Kampi-CMD “precisely to give leeway to the new chairman of the party to choose his own people.”

Toledo expressed belief that Dominguez’s resignation as national president of the administration party was done “out of delicadeza.”

Dominguez, called by his friends as “Migz”, was personally picked by Teodoro as the party president after their colleagues elected the former Defense secretary as chairman of the country’s largest political organization in November last year.

Dominguez succeeded former executive secretary Eduardo Ermita for the party presidency.

Teodoro and Dominguez are close friends, it was learned.

Teodoro said he resigned to be able to focus all his efforts on campaigning for the presidency.

He emphasized that the Lakas-Kampi-CMD needs as full time chairman to be able to attend to the concerns of their candidates, particularly those seeking local posts.

Supporters of Gibo have been advising him to work double time for him to improve his standings on poll surveys as the May 10 election nears.

Toledo, nonetheless, said that there still lies the possibility that Dominguez will be reappointed as Lakas-Kampi-CMD by Teodoro’s successor if he is still interested in his position.

Cebu Rep. Pablo Garcia, party executive vice president, is expected to be designated acting president while temporary chairmanship will be a tossup between vice presidential bet Edu Manzano or Misamis Oriental Gov. Oscar Moreno.

Speaker Prospero Nograles, a member of the Lakas-Kampi-CMD council of advisers, said he is unaware of the lamentable Holy Week developments within the party.

“What has happened to our party? To each his own?” asked Nograles in disgust.

In a telephone interview, another party secretary general, Reginald Velasco, confirmed that Dominguez and Manglapus have indeed resigned their party posts to devote full time in helping Teodoro campaign for the presidency.

“We want to win an election, we have to give everything to Gibo,” said Velasco.

On the other hand, Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga stressed that Dominguez and Manglapus merely resigned to give the next chairman the free hand to choose his own team of leaders who will run the affairs of the party.

Velasco also doused speculations that the resignations were triggered by the seeming lack of interest of key leaders of the party in helping out in Teodoro’s campaign.

On the other hand, several political observers believe that Teodoro’s goal for resigning is to distance himself from President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo whose unpopularity could rub off on him.