DAET, Camarines Norte—The Liberal Party (LP) now has 333 new members in Bicol, mostly municipal and barangay officials in Camarines Norte who had jumped ship from the erstwhile dominant party Lakas-Kampi-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-Kampi-CMD).
The new LP members, who all came from 12 towns of Camarines Norte, were sworn in on Saturday by Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo, the vice president of LP, the current administration party to which President Aquino belongs.
Leading the new LP members were Vice Governor Jonah Pimentel and provincial Board Members Gerardo Quiñones and Rodolfo Gache, who won under the ticket of Lakas-Kampi-CMD.
Presided by Gov. Edgar Tallado, who won under the LP ticket in 2010 elections and the party’s provincial chair, the new members came from the towns of Basud, Capalonga, Daet, Jose Panganiban, Labo, Mercedes, Paracale, San Lorenzo Ruiz, San Vicente, Sta. Elena, Talisay and Vizons.
Not a single mayor from another party joined the oath taking but not because they did not want to, said Tallado.
“Several of the mayors who belonged to other parties wanted to be members of the LP but we cannot accommodate them because we already have municipal chairs in those towns. They were the LP bets defeated (in the) last elections,” he revealed.
Tallado said at present in Camarines Norte, five mayors belonged to LP while another five were members of Lakas-Kampi-CMD, and the two other mayors were independent.
Robredo shared Tallado’s view on LP membership, saying that joining LP must not be likened to “changing clothes” but a commitment to follow the ideals of the party.
He said LP would not readily accept new members because if it would, 65 percent of Congress and local officials would be in LP.
There are 285 seats in the 15th Congress. Excluding the party-list representatives, 72 are LP members, 62 are Lakas-Kampi-CMD while Nationalist People’s Coalition and newly formed Nationalist Unity Party have both 30 representatives each.
The Nacionalista Party representatives occupy 22 seats, Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino has five seats, Kilusang Bagong Lipunan and Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino have one seat each, likewise with Partido ng Demokratikong Reporma-Lapiang Manggagawa. Three Congress seats are independent and a local party.
Robredo said the real challenge for LP would be the 2016 elections as the term of Mr. Aquino would be ending by then. Right now, he said they were preparing for the 2013 midterm elections.
“We know that in 2013 President Noynoy is still the chair of Liberal Party. But come 2016, we will know our true colors,” he said in Filipino.