Lakas-CMD to back Magsaysay, Mercado, Moreno in 2013 polls

MANILA, Philippines—Minority Leader Danilo Suarez said that Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (CMD) would support at least three female senatorial candidates in next year’s mid-term elections.

Suarez said that these candidates were Zambales Representative Milagros “Mitos” Magsaysay, Cavite Representative Lani Mercado-Revilla, and Parañaque City Councilor Alma Moreno.

Magsaysay is expected to switch to Vice President Jejomar Binay’s Partido Demokratikong Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) to be eligible for inclusion in the coalition slate of the United Nationalist Alliance. But Suarez said Lakas-CMD would continue to support her.

Suarez said Lakas-CMD was still considering Mercado-Revilla as a possible candidate even though her husband Senator Ramon Revilla Jr., has declared she would not seek higher office. Suarez said the final decision would be made on the filing of candidacy in October.

Aside from Magsaysay and Revilla-Mercado, Suarez said that Moreno would also run under Lakas-CMD after she was endorsed by members of the League of Councilors of the Philippines where she was serving as Secretary General. of the national Liga ng Mga Konsehal, a position that has been bringing her to every nook and cranny of the country. She’s on her last term as councilor of Parañaque City where her ex-husband Joey Marquez served as mayor.

Although Lakas-CMD’s influence has diminished substantially from its golden years under the Arroyo administration, Suarez said that Lakas-CMD remained a potent political force as it continued to have the biggest number of elected local government officials.