At least five membes of the Liberal Party at the House of Representatives have jumped ship to the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan.
They were joined by other members of the Nationalist People’s Coalition, Nacionalista Party and Lakas–Christian Muslim Democrats who also joined the ruling majority party.
The LP members who joined the ruling party were Lanao del Sur Rep. Ansaruddin Adiong, Quezon City Rep. Winston Castelo and Rep. Alfred Vargas, North Cotabato Rep. Nancy Catamco and Bataan Rep. Geraldine Roman.
According to Roman, she wanted to show her support to President Rodrigo Duterte.
“I want the President to succeed. His success is the success of the entire country. His failure is the failure of the entire country,” she added.
Vargas, meanwhile, said that “at the end of the day, we’re all Filipinos. What we all want is for all of us to unite and help one another toward the development of the country,” The others who joined the ruling party were Masbate Rep. Scott Davies Lañete and Zamboanga del Sur Rep. Divina Grace Yu from the NPC; Isabela Rep. Rodolfo Albano III and Sulu Rep. Munir Arbison from NP; and Camiguin Rep. Xavier Romualdo from Lakas-CMD. The PDP Laban now has about 120 members in the 292-member Congress.
On learning of the reported transfer of his partymates, LP president Senator Francis “Kiko’’ Pangilinan said that the attraction and the benefits of being part of the good graces of Malacañang may have been too hard to resist for some erstwhile LP members.
“We wish them and all our erstwhile partymates well,” said Pangilinan. He recalled that after the elections, 115 congressmen were voted into office as Liberal Party members. But after a brief engagement with the Duterte administration, he said the decimated Liberal Party has been at the crosshairs of the new regime, leading not only to its ouster from power in the Cabinet and the Senate, but also the detention (allegedly on unfounded charges and maneuvered legal process) of LP Senator Leila de Lima.
“The new party leadership took over six months ago, and we must admit that the challenges are enormous — both internal and external to the organization and the individual members. We don’t have the resources – time, people, or money — for all the accusations the social media trolls and some government officials have thrown at us,” said Pangilinan.
He said that since then, the LP has been in the process of reflection, reconnecting, and redefining — crucial requisites to rebuilding.
“In the face of unprovoked, relentless, and baseless attacks against the party and its leaders, these processes are expectedly rough and tough.”
“After six months in the LP leadership, we soldier on, taking on the challenges and holding on only to this: that we as a people are what the rest of the world know about us: generous and forgiving, welcoming and loving, not prone to violence or ruthlessness.”