The Liberal Party (LP) on Tuesday held a caucus a day after a Senate shakeup that stripped LP senators of their key committee chairperson posts.
The LP lawmakers both from the House of Representatives and the Senate attended the meeting amid moves in the Senate to toe the line between the administration allies and opposition.
READ: LP members ousted from Senate majority
The LP representatives joined the caucus as the lower House is expected to debate on individual amendments in the death penalty bill.
The LP is expected to come up with a decision on whether or not its members would remain in the majority coalition, despite the party position against the administration’s pet bill, the restoration of the death penalty, now under second reading in the lower house.
The LP has been decimated, from as many as 115 representatives in the 16th Congress to only 32 in the current 17th Congress.
Of the LP representatives today, 27 are members of the majority, which means they voted for the winning Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez of the now ruling Partido Demokratikong Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan.
There are only five LP representatives who are part of the independent minority, which means they did not vote for the winning speaker.
READ: ‘Clear lines have to be drawn,’ says Pimentel on Senate shakeup
Former President Benigno Aquino III and Vice President Ma. Leonor “Leni” Robredo graced the caucus. Robredo is the party’s interim chairperson as the highest elected LP official.
Robredo has said that the LP is against the death penalty but will not impose sanctions on members voting for it.
READ: Robredo: LP won’t sanction members supporting death penalty
Among those present in Tuesday’s caucus were independent minority solons Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, Ifugao Rep. Teddy Baguilat and Northern Samar Rep. Raul Daza.
Among the majority lawmakers present were Deputy Speaker Marikina Rep. Miro Quimbo, Bataan Rep. Geraldine Roman, Quezon city Representatives Bolet Banal and Kit Belmonte, Cebu city Rep. Raul Del Mar, among others.
Senators Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, LP president, and Franklin Drilon were also present in the caucus.
The LP senators broke away from the majority coalition just days after its prominent member and administration critic Senator Leila De Lima was arrested on drug-related charges.
De Lima is accused of raising campaign funds from the Bilibid drug trade when she was justice secretary. The case against her was investigated by Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II.
De Lima is a critic of President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war, going all the way back to when she was human rights chief, who investigated the vigilante killings in Davao City when Duterte was mayor. RAM/rga
READ: De Lima lawyers ask high court to free her