The Liberal Party thinks it has scored a hit with the defection of Batangas Governor Vilma Santos and husband Ralph Recto, former senator and economic planning secretary of Gloria Arroyo.
Batangas, with an estimated voting population of 1.5 million, is a prime target of any presidential candidate.
Sources said it was Recto who wanted to join the LP having learned from his 2007 senatorial loss due to the Gloria Arroyo stigma.
Although he was also negotiating a slot with the Nacionalista Party headed by his Wednesday Club buddy Manny Villar, Recto knew that he could not shake off the GMA stigma if he were with the NP, which is dubbed in political circles as “Arroyo’s opposition party.”