‘With Duterte son as member, NUP very formidable’

The National Unity Party will be a force to reckon with having the President’s son, Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte, as its new member, political observers said Monday.

But Deputy Speaker Roberto Puno of Antipolo City, an NUP stalwart, said the NUP would not intend to be the dominant party in the House of Representatives and its membership would be limited to 50 legislators, one-sixth of the 300-strong lower chamber.

Puno said he believed Duterte would be a great asset to the NUP.

“There is no question that Paolo Duterte is going to be a great Congressman I think. From a leadership standpoint, from his taking positions early in his political career in Congress, I think it is something to be admired. He is not the kind of person who will strike you at being afraid of anything. So he is going to be a very significant member of Congress. And when people see him joining a particular party, I think there’s a desire to be around him as well,” Puno said at a news conference Monday.

The NUP, co-chaired by businessman Enrique Razon and former interior secretary Ronaldo Puno, will now be the second biggest party since its membership is expected to double to 50 with the entry of Duterte—which, according to Puno, will be an adopted member of the party.

The 25 new members are composed of 12  lawmakers from the PDP-Laban, seven from the party-list coalition and six congressmen belonging to local parties led by Paolo who is a member of the Hugpong sa Tawong Lungsod.

Having its members at 50, the NUP will now be the second-largest political party at the Lower House next to the ruling PDP-Laban with at least 84 members.

Sources said that Duterte is also expected to replace Capiz Rep. Fredenil Castro as party president during the party meeting on Tuesday morning at the Seda Hotel in Quezon City.

The entry of Duterte in the NUP fueled speculations that he may gun for the speakership once the 15 months tenure of Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano expires. 

But Puno dismissed it as a mere speculation.  

“I have never heard any of [that],” Puno said, adding the party respected the term sharing agreement that was brokered by the President.

Marinduque Rep. Lord Alan Velasco is supposed to succeed Cayetano in the last 21 months of the 18th Congress under the term sharing agreement brokered by President Rodrigo Duterte.

“We know there’s a term sharing after 15 months….that committee chairmanships and memberships are being worked on in such a way Speaker Velasco takes over; that will be acceptable to him [Velasco],” Puno said.

Duterte, together with Manila Mayor Francisco Domagoso, will attend the NUP meeting Tuesday.

This developed as Puno said the NUP “does not intent to go beyond its members,” adding it would want to maintain its numbers “not too much more than 50.”

By experience, Puno said, too many members would make taking a stand in issues as a group very difficult.

“In the 17th Congress, and we ended the elections with 60 NUP members, and even that was a little unwieldy already in the opinion of the party leadership. At 60, we end up with, I think with some congressmen who might be at cross-purposes with each other locally already. And it’s a little bit hard to come up with a party position that we will be able to carry through consistently and 100 percent, as we have liked to believe we’ve always done. We’ve always taken a party position and we take pride in the fact that the National Unity Party sticks to its political position and we managed to be able to deliver a party position for any issue that we support or any person that we support,” Puno explained. 

Puno also said that the NUP “[does] not actively recruit members” as lawmakers would want to be part of the political party which has earned its reputation.  

“We are proud of our reputation.”

The NUP used to be called Kabalikat ng Mamamayang Pilipino, that propelled President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to the presidency.

Arroyo and Senate President Vicente Sotto III founded the party in the 1990s.

READ: Duterte son to join NUP; solons realign

READ: Solon resigns as NUP chief out of ‘delicadeza’ over Speaker bid