Aquino swears in new senators

President Benigno Aquino III. AP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Prominent members of the ruling coalition on Thursday took their oath of office in Malacañang before President Aquino, the titular head of the Liberal Party-led election alliance that dominated the 2013 polls.

Leading the mix of old and new allies of the President were Senators Grace Poe, Loren Legarda, Francis Escudero, Koko Pimentel and Juan Edgardo Angara.

After the swearing-in, movie star Heart Evangelista went up the dais to join her beau, Escudero, and the latter’s twin children for a photo opportunity with Aquino, with Poe taking the photos. Escudero and Poe campaigned together in the senatorial race.

Poe, the election topnotcher, wore a white terno while Legarda went ethnic. The latter described her choice of attire as a form of “fashionalism,” which she said meant “fashion with nationalism.” Her ensemble, she said, consisted of “abaca with coco beads by Boy Ginoo of Davao, Tingguian bead necklace from Abra, and piña wrap cloth from Lumban, Laguna.”

Reelected Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, an administration guest candidate from the Nacionalista Party, was noticeably absent from the oathtaking that was also attended by Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, the LP president on leave.

Cayetano was No. 3 in the official poll count, after Poe and Legarda. He was followed by Escudero, Nancy Binay, Angara, Bam Aquino, Pimentel, Antonio Trillanes, Cynthia Villar, JV Ejercito and Gregorio Honasan. Binay, Ejercito and Honasan are the only ones from the nominally oppositionist United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) to have won.

Noticing the dove-bedecked backdrop—apparently the decor was carried over from the vin d’honneur for the diplomatic corps on Wednesday—Aquino cracked a joke as the senators approached him.

“Let’s (position ourselves) here with the doves, so we will have peace with the Senate,” he quipped, eliciting laughter from the audience composed of newly elected local officials and their families.

Legarda and Escudero, who are on their last terms, vowed to alleviate poverty and fight corruption in the government, respectively, when separately interviewed by the Inquirer.

Legarda said she would work “to make sure the 7.8-percent economic growth translates to jobs and the creation of micro-enterprises, to ensure a better quality of life for the Filipino which is sustainable and resilient.”

“I will continue to serve with utmost honesty and fight corruption in government,” said Escudero.

As one of the new Senate members, Angara vowed to deliver on his campaign promises.

Besides the five senators, 39 LP governors and the entire legislative assembly of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), elections for which were also held on May 13, took their oath before the President.

Among the provincial governors were some of the leading lights of the administration coalition in local politics—Cebu’s Hilario Davide III (who came with his father, former Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr.), Marinduque’s Carmencita Reyes, Oriental Mindoro’s Alfonso Umali, Quirino’s Junie Cua, Antique’s Exequiel Javier, Bohol’s Ed Chatto and Biliran’s Gerardo Espina Jr.

The administration’s election alliance with the well-entrenched political families of Muslim Mindanao produced this crop of governors: Basilan’s Jum Akbar, Lanao del Sur’s Mamintal Adiong Sr., Maguindanao’s Esmael Mangudadatu, Sulu’s Abdusakur Tan II, Tawi-Tawi’s Nurbert Sahali and ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman.

Seeing the parade of old faces representing the country’s dynastic politics, a member of the audience noted that it seemed that power had not changed hands at all despite the elections.

But the significance of their presence—and loyalty to Malacañang—did not escape Aquino, who joked that their sheer number could easily assure the administration of the presidency of the League of Provinces.

He said it was unlikely that his allies would lose the leadership of the league as “we have a lot of governors who are our party mates.”

He jokingly warned that it would be impossible to lose, or else, “let’s not see each other” again.