LP ranks down to 37

THE PARTIDO Demokratikong Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban)  is not yet done raiding the ranks of the Liberal Party (LP) even if the once mighty ruling party has been depleted to a third of its former size.

A member of the PDP-Laban alliance in the House, who refused to be named because he didn’t have the authority to speak for the group, said the leaders of the political party of President Duterte wanted the LP ranks trimmed down to no more than 20 by the start of the 17th Congress.

Defections

The LP had 115 members who won congressional seats in the May 9 elections but this number had been reduced substantially due to defections to other parties, particularly to the PDP-Laban, which started out with only three elected members for the 17th Congress.

The LP still had 37 members on its roster, led by Quezon City Rep. Feliciano Belmonte Jr., but PDP-Laban leaders felt the number was still too large, the source said.

But the source said the LP, which has agreed to join the majority coalition, had balked at further trimming its size to below 20 because it would not be enough to get seats on the Commission on Appointments and on the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal.

Open to transfers

PDP-Laban Vice Chair Alfonso Cusi, however, denied that his party was targeting a specific number for the LP. “I don’t know about the ideal number but PDP-Laban is open to LP members wanting to transfer with certain exceptions,” Cusi said in a text message.

Presumptive Speaker and PDP-Laban secretary general Pantaleon Alvarez was previously quoted as targeting a “supermajority” in the House and reducing the minority to “bite size.”

PDP-Laban has to build up its ranks quickly to parry any move to oust Mr. Duterte through impeachment, which requires only a one-third vote of the 290-member Congress.

Alvarez did not address questions on the targeted LP size being sought by his party. But he stressed that “there is no need for PDP-Laban to be insecure.” Belmonte did not reply to the Inquirer’s query.