LP presents 'reform candidates'

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino presented his administration’s “reform candidates” for the Senate yesterday, as well as his Liberal Party (LP)’s coalition with four other political parties in an apparent bid to solidify ranks under his leadership.

The coalition is composed of the LP, Nacionalista Party (NP), Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP) and Akbayan, which were distinct in the 2010 elections but now form a “rainbow.”

Only three members of the LP are part of the administration coalition – Aquino’s cousin Benigno Paolo “Bam” Aquino, and former senators Jamby Madrigal and Ramon “Jun” Magsaysay Jr.

Bam and Madrigal took their oaths as LP members last Friday.

The other candidates come from the LP’s former rival NP, including former Las Piñas Rep. Cynthia Villar and Senators Antonio Trillanes IV and Alan Peter Cayetano; NPC’s Sen. Loren Legarda, former party-list representative Risa Hontiveros of Akbayan, and LDP’s Aurora Rep. Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara.

Three others – Sen. Francis Escudero, Movie and Television Review and Classification Board chairman Grace Poe-Llamanzares and Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III – are independents.

Aquino himself led the selection of the candidates and personally talked to them on separate occasions as Vice President Jejomar Binay, a concurrent Cabinet member, also formed his coalition called United Nationalist Alliance.

In his speech, the President said he asked Customs Commissioner Ruffy Biazon, Quezon Rep. Lorenzo Tañada III and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority chief Joel Villanueva to sacrifice their political careers and give way to candidates from other parties.

Aquino emphasized that rather than parties, the candidates were the ones who responded to the administration’s goal to create a coalition with the same beliefs and promised to advance the agenda of honest governance.

The presentation of the candidates was held at Club Filipino in San Juan, the same venue where Aquino announced his presidential bid in 2009 and where his mother, the late Corazon Aquino, took her oath as president in February 1986.

The event was highlighted by some singing – a regular fare in LP events – yellow shirts and the flashing of the “L” or “Laban” sign, meaning fight.

Magic 12

In introducing the administration bets, the President gave a brief description of each of them.

He said Angara backed his agenda of reform during the impeachment of then chief justice Renato Corona, while he lauded Magsaysay for his quiet but effective leadership and for exposing the fertilizer fund scam during the time of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Aquino also lauded his cousin Bam for his many achievements and for working with the youth; Cayetano for being consistent in his campaign on accountability and transparency; Escudero for being an idol of the youth because of his intelligence and for fighting to correct whatever was wrong; Madrigal for her efforts to protect children; Hontiveros for her health and women advocacies; Legarda for her long career in public service and for protecting the environment; and Pimentel for fighting for the people’s voice and standing firm on his electoral protest, believing that he was cheated in the 2010 polls.

Meanwhile, Aquino hailed Llamanzares for her effective work at the MTRCB and for continuing the advocacies of her father, the late actor Fernando Poe Jr.; Trillanes for being an example of a soldier not running away from any war; and Villar for improving the lives of Filipinos through her work as congresswoman.

But Aquino took a swipe at Trillanes, who recently had a spat with Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile over his backchannel talks with China on the Panatag Shoal standoff.

Trillanes was severely criticized for exposing the task he was assigned to do secretly and for openly criticizing Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario.

“On his second term, he will show us how it is to be a senior senator,” Aquino said.

The coalition said in a statement that the ticket would bring Aquino’s social agenda to the Senate.

It said the primary consideration in inviting candidates was their track record and commitment to push the legislative component of Aquino’s social contract with the Filipino people.

Aquino said it was clear that the LP-led coalition and its opponents were standing on different platforms. He said their opponents were always opposing and criticizing while those in the administration coalition were committed to cooperation. – With Marvin Sy, Delon Porcalla, Perseus Echeminada