The plenary hall of the House of Representatives. (Photo from the Philippine Daily Inquirer)
The Liberal Party (LP) won’t bolt out of the majority coalition in the House of Representatives just yet, despite the looming railroad of the death penalty bill and a rigodon in the Senate that stripped its members of key positions.
The LP during its caucus on Tuesday decided to wait until the voting for the bill reimposing the death penalty is done before it takes a position on whether or not to bolt out of the “super majority” in the lower house, Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman said.
Lagman said the LP is against the death penalty but it will give its members the leeway to vote for or against it based on conscience.
This means there will be no sanctions against members voting for the death penalty.
“We are going to wait for the vote for the death penalty bill. After that, the party will make a crystal clear position,” Lagman said in a press conference at the House of Representatives.
“But the official position of the party is against the death penalty. But it’s giving its members a conscience vote,” he added.
After a caucus held in Tomas Morato, Quezon City on Tuesday, LP President Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan said the party decided to hold off its decision for more time to process the latest developments, particularly the reorganization in the Senate that stripped LP members of their committee chair posts.
READ: LP holds caucus amid Senate shakeup, death penalty
“We purposely did not intend to vote today because of what happened in the Senate yesterday. We want to process it properly,” Pangilinan said.
The LP held the caucus amid moves in the Senate to toe the line between the administration allies and opposition.
READ: LP members ousted from Senate majority
The LP congressmen and women joined the caucus as the lower house is expected to debate on the individual amendments on the death penalty, which the LP opposed amid a looming railroad in the lower house dominated by administration allies.
The bill restoring capital punishment is in the period of individual amendments under second reading. It is expected to be voted upon in this week’s session days.
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 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 its members voting for it.
READ: Robredo: LP won’t sanction members supporting death penalty
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 when she was human rights chief who investigated the vigilante killings in Davao City when Duterte was mayor. RAM/rga