2022 ELECTIONS | Liberal Party starts reaching out to other parties to build ‘broadest coalition’

June 22, 2021 , 06:01 PM

(June 22, 2021) – The vice president’s political party has reached out to four popular politicians from other parties as the opposition began preparations to build a broad coalition for next year’s elections, a senator said on Tuesday.

Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, president of Liberal Party, told reporters the party had informal discussions with three incumbent senators—Panfilo Lacson, Joel Villanueva, and Nancy Binay—to ally with the opposition in challenging President Rodrigo Duterte’s bets next year. Lacson and Villanueva are eligible for reelection.

Pangilinan said there were also talks with Manila Mayor Francisco Domagoso, more popularly known as Isko Moreno, a potential candidate for president.

“‘Yun ang kailangan nating bigyan ng priority—kung paano magkaisa, paano natin isasantabi ‘yung ating pagkakaiba [at] ‘yung ating hidwaan,” Pangilinan told reporters in an online interview. “We are working towards a broader unity which is critical.”

“It’s a challenge pero we should not allow [it to hinder us]. Kinabukasan ng ating mga anak ang nakasalalay rito kaya kahit na merong mga ganitong pagsubok, kailangang lampasan natin at magkaisa tayo,” he added.

Liberal Party was the dominant party under the past administration but suffered a humiliating defeat during the midterm elections.

Leonor Robredo, who was elected vice president in 2016, is the highest elected party official. Four senators were also elected from the party.

But none won in the 2019 elections.

Party members have been urging Robredo to run for president but she has not made up her mind and was also considering a run for governor in her home province in Camarines Sur.

She has to decide by September if she would seek a national or local position.

Robredo has also gained the support of the broad opposition coalition, 1Sambayan, led by former Supreme Court senior associate justice Antonio Carpio.

Five other candidates were also named as possible standard-bearers, but only former senator Antonio Trillanes IV was willing to take on the challenge.

Pangilinan said they are working closely with 1Sambayan and other opposition forces to push through with their plan to form a broad opposition group.

But the politicians that Pangilinan mentioned seemed to have a cold shoulder to Liberal Party’s invitation, including Binay, a daughter of a former vice president, who previously said she would not seek higher office.

“May mga sugat na dapat munang gamutin bago kami mag usap tungkol sa 2022,” Binay said.

Lacson, for his part, confirmed to have engaged in informal talks with the opposition party, saying he has always kept an open mind when it comes to building alliances with any political forces.

Villanueva thanked the Liberal Party for the possible political partnership, while Domagoso said he wanted to focus on pandemic response efforts.

“If it comes to that, I will have to discuss matters with [Senate President Tito Sotto] since I have given my word to him that he will be my running mate and it is something that I cannot and will not negotiate to turn against,” Lacson said. “As far as the Liberal Party [is concerned], it is [a] work in progress.”

(Beatrice Puente/MM with reports from Maeanne Los Baños, News5)

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