Son also rises: Sonny Angara is new LDP head

Sen. Sonny Angara (File photo by LYN RILLON / Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Published @ 12:21 p.m., Sept. 22, 2018 | Updated @ 12:03 a.m., Sept. 23, 2018

Sen. Sonny Angara has taken the helm of the political party once led by his father, less than eight months before the May 13, 2019, midterm general elections.

Angara was named new president of the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP) that his father, the late Sen. Edgardo Angara, cofounded in 1988 when the Peping Cojuangco wing of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan merged with the Lakas ng Bansa party of former Speaker Ramon Mitra.

In a statement, Angara said that as LDP president, he would continue the centrist policies his father pursued.

Angara stressed education, universal health care, better job opportunities and universal social pension.

“All of these are focused on providing assistance or support to each member of the Filipino family—from the youngest to the grandparents,” he said.

Important reforms

Angara described his election as an “opportunity to continue the aspirations of his father for the country.”

“My father should serve as inspiration for the party to pursue important reforms,” he said.

Earlier this month, Sen. Nancy Binay was also named president of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA), the coalition her father, former Vice President Jejomar Binay, founded for the 2013 midterm elections and turned into a political party for his presidential bid in 2016.

Binay said she would work on social inclusion or improvement of basic services, economic dynamism and effective and caring governance.

“We need to learn from our moments of doubt and make sure that the vision and platform of UNA shall remain relevant to the people,” she added.

Commanding majority

Binay and Angara, and their parties, are part of the 17-senator coalition that gave the Duterte administration a commanding majority in the Senate.

Seven of 17 senators are up for reelection 33 weeks from now while Senators Gregorio Honasan, Loren Legarda and Francis Escudero can no longer run for reelection.

The reelectionist majority senators are Angara, Binay, JV Ejercito, Grace Poe and Cynthia Villar.

It was still uncertain if Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III can run for reelection since it has not been legally resolved if he has completed two terms. /muf /pdi