Drilon to host largest gathering of international LP leaders

Senate President and Liberal Party (LP) head Franklin Drilon will play host to the largest gathering of international liberal party leaders in Manila this week.

Over 100 leaders of the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD), Liberal International (LI) and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) will converge for a series of meetings in Manila, Cavite and Tagaytay City from tomorrow up to Saturday, Drilon said.

In a statement, Drilon said the visiting liberals will include 30 members of parliament and senators, five incumbent ministers and a number of national and local officials from at least 30 countries. The LP is hosting the meetings with the support of the German liberal foundation, the Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF), according to CALD secretary general and Bukidnon Rep. Nereus Acosta.

The main event is the CALD-ALDE-LI Meeting on June 22 focusing on population, migration and the globalization of labor, which will be held at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) at 9:30 a.m. Former President Corazon Aquino will serve as keynote speaker.

Among the prominent liberal leaders set to attend the meetings are: The Lord Alderdice, President of the Liberal International and European Parliament member Graham Watson, who is also ALDE leader; Dr. Wolfgang Gerhart, former leader of the German Liberal Party and current FNF chairman; former International Labor Organization (ILO) chairman Chung Eui-yong; Dr. Yoo Jay Kun, MP of Korea’s ruling Uri Party; Malaysian Sen. Dr. S. Vijayaratnam; Italian European Parliament member Lappo Pistelli; and MP Sam Rainsy, leader of the Cambodian United Opposition and president of the Cambodian Sam Rainsy Party.

On June 23, there will be an international academic conference on "Liberal Perspectives on Terrorism and Civil Liberties" at the Yuchengco Center of the De La Salle University in Manila, an event organized by the Philippine liberal think tank, the National Institute for Policy Studies (NIPS) and DLSU.

CALD and LI will also have their respective closed-door Executive Committee meetings on June 24 in Tagaytay City.

Acosta said CALD is an organization of liberal and democratic political parties, with members and observers from Burma, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Thailand. CALD holds international conferences, workshops and missions to give liberal solutions to pressing problems in Asia.

ALDE brings together politicians from the European Liberal and Democratic traditions to create the largest third force in the history of the European Parliament. It is made up of 88 MEPS and is led by Watson. ALDE’s political program focuses strengthening and reforming the European Union to make it more effective both at home and overseas.

Acosta said the LI is a world federation of liberal political parties founded in 1947 and is the preeminent network for promoting liberalism, strengthening liberal parties and for the promotion of liberal democracy around the world.

The LP is now the chair party and a founding member of CALD. It is the first Asian member of LI. Drilon is the current chairman of CALD. — Christina Mendez