Remaining LPs tell new ruling party: You need us for ‘credibility’

CONGRESSMEN belonging to the Liberal Party (LP) on Sunday emphasized the need for a “credible minority” and not “a rubber stamp Congress,” amid reports the new ruling party, Partido Demokratikong Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), intended to decimate its ranks.

In a text message to the Inquirer, Caloocan City Rep. Edgar Erice considered the decimation of their ranks mere “speculation.”

“But I say that a credible minority would really serve best not just the country but even the President’s administration as it will provide humanitarian and alternative insights,” Erice said.

In a statement, Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman said: “More than the ascendancy of a supermajority in the House of Representatives, what is seriously alarming is a possible emergence of a co-opted minority, a ‘company union,’ established and supported by the majority.”

He urged colleagues “not to allow themselves to be pawns in a sinister plot to create a rubber stamp Congress.”

“I earnestly urge the remaining Liberal Party representatives to forge a minority coalition with similarly minded party-list representatives and members of other parties, and become the reasonable, credible and vigilant counterpoise to the new administration,” Lagman said.

He stressed the need for “checks and balances” in the government, which should not be “sacrificed at the unholy altar of partisanship and expediency.”

The Inquirer reported on Sunday that PDP-Laban wanted the LP trimmed down to no more than 20 members in the House. Nikko Dizon