Senate Liberal Party members intact — Drilon

Senate President Franklin Drilon. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Unlike in the House of Representatives, members of the Liberal Party (LP) in the Senate will remain intact under the administration of presumptive President-elect Rodrigo Duterte, Senate President Franklin Drilon said on Monday.

At least 80 LP members in the House have reportedly joined Duterte’s Coalition for Change.

READ: 80 LP members hop on Rody bandwagon

Asked if LP members in the Senate, including the newly-elected senators, would remain intact, Drilon answered “yes” in a text message.

Aside from Drilon, vice chair of LP, his other partymates in the chamber are incumbent Senator Bam Aquino, re-elected Senator Ralph Recto, returning Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan and newly-elected Senator Leila de Lima.

Three incoming senators ran under the LP ticket. These were Panfilo “Ping” Lacson (independent), Risa Hontiveros (Akbayan Partylist), and Joel Villanueva (Cibac Partylist).

Asked again if he was confident of keeping his post when the new Congress opens in July, Drilon said: “The Senate presidency is determined by whoever has the support of 13 senators.”

So far, Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III has expressed interest in seeking the Senate presidency while Senator Vicente “Tito” Sotto III claimed that at least 11 senators were pushing him to run for the post.

Senator Alan Peter Cayetano is also being floated as a possible contender for the Senate presidency.

READ: Koko Pimentel eyes Senate presidency

READ: Sotto says at least 11 senators pushing him to Senate presidency

Pangilinan could not say yet if the LP members and their allies would stick together despite the reported defections in the lower chamber.

“Hindi pa kami nag-uusap sa Senate so I really would not know at this point,” he said in a separate message.

While he ran under the LP slate, Villanueva pointed out that the Senate is an independent institution. He also clarified that he remained the chair and president of the Cibac partylist group.

Villanueva said he would meet separately with the four possible contenders for the Senate presidency though he said Drilon might have a “big advantage” since he was the incumbent and because they ran together during the last elections.

He was also quick to point out his close personal ties with Cayetano, who is the godfather of his children.

“Ang bottom line, kung sino ang makakatulong sa aking advocacies and commitments, such as to create more jobs…” Villanueva said over the phone./rga