Senate president joins Liberal Party

Senate President Franklin Drilon is joining the pro-administration Liberal Party on Friday, his 58th birthday.

He will take his oath before Batanes Rep. Florencio Abad, who is LP president.

"I am happy to announce that I have decided to join the Liberal Party," Drilon said in a statement yesterday.

He said it is with the LP and its leaders "that I feel I am comfortable with in sharing my core political principles and values."

Drilon said he was impressed by the rich tradition of principled political leadership of the LP ever since it was founded by the late President Manuel Roxas in 1946.

During the post-World War II era, the LP and the Nacionalista Party (NP), founded by Commonwealth President Manuel Quezon, dominated national and local politics.

Aside from Roxas (1946-1949), three other Philippine presidents came from the LP — Elpidio Quirino (1949-1953), Diosdado Macapagal (1961-1965) and Ferdinand Marcos (1965-1973).

For most of his political career, Marcos was a staunch Liberal until Macapagal refused to fulfill his pledge to yield the LP nomination for the 1965 presidential elections to Marcos, who ran and won under the NP ticket.

Although both parties existed during martial law, their dominance in Philippine politics was overshadowed by the Marcos dictatorship.

The party’s chairman emeritus is long-time party stalwart, former Senate president Jovito Salonga, who first served as senator with the likes of partymates former senator Gerardo Roxas and slain former senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr.

Other LP leaders are Manila Mayor Lito Atienza, executive vice president; Rep. Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III, vice president for Luzon; Rep. Antonio Nachura, vice president for Visayas; Rep. Nereus Acosta, vice president for Mindanao; and housing czar Michael Defensor, vice chairman for Metro Manila.

Other prominent LP members are Trade Secretary Manuel Roxas II. and Sen. Francis Pangilinan, who is also chairman of the LP national organizing committee.

"It is my hope that I can work with the current party leaders in making the Liberal Party a dominant political force in the future," Drilon said, saying he will push for the enactment of the proposed electoral reform bill as an LP senator.

He explained that the electoral reform bill seeks to strengthen political parties by institutionalizing party development activities, including party platforms, accountability, loyalty and discipline.