LDP joining Aquino coalition for 2013 polls—Sen. Angara

Senator Edgardo Angara. INQUIRER file photo

MANILA, Philippines—Once the most influential party in Philippine politics, the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino is now willing to fill up just one slot in the administration coalition’s senatorial ticket in next year’s mid-term elections.

Senator Edgardo Angara, the LDP chairman, said the party would “most likely” be part of the ruling coalition composed of President Aquino’s Liberal Party, the Nacionalista Party and the Nationalist People’s Coalition.

“We’ll be satisfied with one slot.  The main strength of the LDP is on the middle-level elected officialdom— the provincial board members, councilors, mayors and vice governors. And we are happy having that kind of backbone on the middle-level elected officials,” Angara told reporters.

“Of course, we would want more but I think the allocation of slots is already a very contentious issue within the alliance, so we don’t want to add problems to the leaders of the alliance,” he added.

Angara made the remarks at a news conference following the LDP’s national executive council meeting at the Manila Hotel.  The council resolved, among other things, to authorize Angara to negotiate and enter into coalitions with other political parties.

Angara’s son, third-term Aurora Congressman Juan Edgardo Angara, has been endorsed by no less than President Aquino as one of his bets for senator in 2013.

“Most likely, I think the chances are very high that the LDP will coalesce with the ruling coalition of President P-Noy (Aquino) especially because the President has already selected one of our members, Sonny Angara, on the slate,” Angara said.

“I think the probability is very high that we will join that coalition,” he added.

Asked if the LDP’s door was now closed to the United Nationalist Alliance of Vice President Jejomar Binay and former President Joseph Estrada, Angara said:  “More or less. I’m not completely closing the opening but more or less it’s probable, not just possible.”

Angara said he has been talking informally for two to three months already with LP leaders, specifically Aquino, Transportation Secretary Manuel Roxas II and Senator Franklin Drilon.

The LDP once dominated both houses of Congress in the early 1990s. Stalwarts like Angara and Neptali Gonzales were presidents of the Senate while Ramon Mitra was speaker of the House.

In a statement, Angara said 139 LDP members were elected in the 2010 elections. He said more than 70 percent of them were local councilors.

“We may not be the biggest and most dominant party but this is no reason to lose heart.  Our continued success only means that our connection with our constituents is strong and enduring, based on a solid track record of service, not on fads,” Angara said.

“And we are at a lower risk of suffering fair-weather friends because our members stick with the party based on shared principles and values,” he added.