Liberal Party meets today but no election

Liberal Party leaders gather today at the Manila Hotel to discuss vital party matters but they will not push through with their scheduled party elections because of a Supreme Court restraining order.

The court suspended the exercise temporarily until the LP resolves its leadership squabble.

Last year, LP president Franklin Drilon and several party members withdrew support from President Arroyo following the electoral fraud allegations that continue to hound her.

Manila Mayor Lito Atienza, a party stalwart and a staunch Arroyo supporter, protested, saying Drilon didn’t consult other party members. He maintained that the LP remains behind Mrs. Arroyo.

Atienza earlier appealed to party stalwarts to bow to the will of the court which sought time to consider the issues even as he asserted that an early election — supervised by the Commission on Elections — was the best way to solve the leadership dispute.

Atienza said that since the LP leaders representing the various provincial chapters were already in Manila, they decided to go ahead with the meeting and discuss other important issues.

The Supreme Court required the parties involved in the LP dispute to submit their respective written arguments in 10 days, afterwhich the court is expected to hand down a decision.

LP National Executive Council (NECO) member and former Pasay Rep. Lorna Verano-Yap said that the Drilon faction scheduled a similar meeting at Club Filipino in Greenhills, San Juan, today but cancelled at the last minute.