LP eyes coalition to ensure Drilon will keep senate presidency

The Liberal Party (LP) and its allies in the Senate are eyeing a coalition with other senators to ensure that incumbent Senate President Franklin Drilon would keep his post in the 17th Congress.

“The Liberal Party has six in the Senate in the 17th Congress, plus our ally group, which is represented by Senator Risa Hontiveros, so we have a group of seven,” Drilon, vice chairman of LP, told reporters on Tuesday.

“They have to contend with us to make their thirteen. We can also make thirteen. These things do not get settled until the last minute,” he said.

Aside from Drilon and Hontiversos, four other LP members and allies were elected in the last May 9 elections and they are Senators-elect Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan,  Leila de Lima, Ralph Recto and  Joel Villanueva. Another LP member is incumbent Senator Bam Aquino.

Drilon, Pangilinan, Recto, Aquino and de Lima are all LP members while Hontiveros and Villanueva are representatives of Akbayan and Cibac partylist groups, respectively, but they ran under the LP-led slate during the last elections.

“We have a solid group here,” the Senate leader said.

Asked if the LP would then coalesce with other groups to get the majority in the chamber, Drilon said: “Why do we have to coalesce? We are a group of seven, we can add six, we can coalesce, and we can make thirteen.”

Asked if they have already sealed an alliance with six other senators, the Senate leader reiterated that: “We could coalesce with six.”

Thirteen senators or the majority of the 24-member of the chamber is needed to oust Drilon and install  a new Senate President.

So far, senators Alan Peter Cayetano and Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III have expressed their interest to run for the post while Senator Vicente “Tito” Sotto III claimed  that majority of his colleagues are pushing  for him. TVJ

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