Aquino is sole opposition member in Magic 12, but Pangilinan still happy

Sen. Francis Pangilinan on Friday hailed the inclusion of Sen. Bam Aquino in the top 12 of the Pulse Asia survey of possible senatorial candidates in the 2019 elections—the lone member of the opposition in the potential winning circle.

Pangilinan reminded the public that it was important the opposition was represented in the legislature as this would be healthy for democracy.

“It cannot be that only one voice is heard in the country. There must a critic of wrong government policies that harm the people,” Pangilinan said in a statement.

Gain people’s trust

He said the Liberal Party, which he heads, would use the poll results to work harder to gain the people’s trust.

Meanwhile, Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III said support for federalism was a basic requirement for candidates seeking slots in the final slate of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban).

A shift to a federal government is one of the advocacies of Mr. Duterte and of PDP-Laban.

Reelectionists prioritized

“Party politics in the country would not become stronger if people with opposing ideas would be in the same party,” he said.

He said he prioritized the inclusion in the PDP-Laban slate of his reelectionist colleagues in the Senate majority because they had been instrumental in passing laws that fulfilled the promise of the President. —LEILA B. SALAVERRIA