League of Provinces endorses Loren Legarda, 5 others

Deputy Speaker and Antique Rep. Loren Legarda (left) is among the six senatorial candidates endorsed by the 81-member League of Provinces of the Philippines.

MANILA, Philippines — The League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP) has endorsed the candidacy of six senatorial candidates ahead of the May 9 polls.

LPP president and Marinduque Governor Presbitero Velasco, Jr. said that a survey among the League’s 81 governors led to their decision to endorse the following senatorial bets: Sorsogon Governor Francis ‘Chiz’ Escudero; Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, Senator Joel Villanueva, Senator Juan Miguel ‘Migz’ Zubiri, forner DPWH Secretary Mark Villar and Deputy Speaker Loren Legarda.

In December last year, Velasco said governors agreed to conduct a survey among its members on who to support for senator and come up with a list of common candidates for the Senate. The survey results were released in April and the names of six senatoriables came up.

“We need more allies in the 19th Congress to help the League push for vital policies that would advance our legislative agenda and protect the gains we have achieved in promoting a genuine fiscal and local autonomy of all local government units, particularly to help secure our rightful share in the national taxes,” Gov. Velasco said in a letter to LPP members.

Deputy Speaker and Antique Rep. Loren Legarda expressed thanks to the LPP for including her in the list of common candidates that governors throughout the Philippines will support.

“I’m honored and sincerely grateful for the League’s endorsement. My inclusion in LPP’s list is a recognition of many years of hard work and dedication to help uplift the lives of our countrymen. Once reelected to the Senate, I will help push the projects and advocacies of our beloved governors,” she said.

President Rodrigo Duterte and several groups like the 1.2-million strong Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) and various mayors’ leagues throughout the Philippines have also endorsed Legarda’s senate comeback bid. Recent polls by leading survey outfits like Pulse Asia and OCTA Research show Legarda in the top two slots in terms of voter preference.

A staunch environmentalist, Legarda is running on a platform that includes her long-time advocacies on ecological protection and climate change adaption; employment and livelihood creation; health; education; and many others.

Once reelected, she promised to push legislative measures to strengthen the nation’s disaster and calamity preparedness to prevent loss of lives and the destruction wrought by super typhoons Ondoy, Yolanda and Odette.

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