Vice presidential aspirant Sen. Chiz Escudero speaks before the crowd at Club Filipino in San Juan City on Thursday during the launch of the senatorial slate of Partido Galing at Puso. MAILA AGER/INQUIRER.net
Malacañang on Thursday said there was nothing wrong with the presence of Liberal Party (LP) personalities in the Senate slate of the independent tandem of Senators Grace Poe and Francis Escudero in the 2016 elections.
Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma has denied speculations that the inclusion of LP members Sen. Ralph Recto, who is also running under the administration ticket, and Pasig Rep. Roman Romulo in Poe and Escudero’s “Partido Galing at Puso” will weaken the senatorial lineup of the ruling LP.
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He said certain agreements and guidelines had already been discussed by the parties regarding guest candidates.
“Sa aking pagkabatid ay nagtakda ng mga panuntunan o patakaran hinggil sa conduct ng mga kandidato,” Coloma told reporters in a press briefing.
“At ang aking pagkaunawa ay meron naman silang pinagkasunduan na mga patakaran kung saan sila mag-a-attend, kung paano sila magkakampanya at sa aking pagkabatid nauunawaan naman nila lahat ang mga panuntunang ito at ito naman ay nasa kaalaman din ng kanilang partido,” he added.
While Recto is also part of the LP senatorial ticket, Romulo is running exclusively under the Poe-Escudero tandem.
Poe and Escudero, front-runners in the presidential and vice presidential derbies, formally announced their senatorial lineup on Thursday. All bets were present during the launch at the Club Filipino in San Juan except for Recto, who was represented by his son Ryan Christian. Yuji Vincent Gonzales/RC