Rep. Edcel Lagman attends a House hearing on September 9, 2022. Press and Public Affairs Bureau handout/File

The Liberal Party and its allies will field six candidates in next year’s Senate elections, a lawmaker said Wednesday. 

None of them will have ties with the administration, LP President and Albay First District Rep. Edcel Lagman said. 

“We are not going to have a full slate. At the most, we will field about six candidates for the senatorial elections,” Lagman said. 

“For electoral purposes, I think the Liberal Party will remain as the political opposition and will put up its independent slate both in the national and local level... But on issue-to-issue basis, there can be an alliance,” Lagman said at the “Kapihan sa Manila Hotel” forum. 

Lagman made the statement when asked for reaction on the recommendation made by former senator Antonio Trillanes IV for the original opposition group to forge an alliance with the administration camp. 

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The move will block the possible return of the Dutertes to national politics, Trillanes said.

Asked if LP could enter into an alliance with the administration under a “6-6”or “8-4” sharing of senatorial candidates, Lagman said: “Politics is the game of the possible.”

“We can consider that, but at the moment, we have not yet talked about it. So, it can be part of an agenda,” Lagman said.  

“We will discuss that in a proper meeting of the Liberal Party,” he added.

But for Lagman, the alliance with the administration camp can only happen on per issue basis. 

These include issues on the West Philippine Sea and the International Criminal Court’s “war on drugs” investigation.

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“And I am calling for a summit to invite all kindred nation supporting the Philippines, to have a meeting here in the Philippines, to show the extent of the support being given to the Philippines on the West Philppine Sea,” Lagman said.

“On the ICC, we can have an alliance if the government will change its posture that we should cooperate with the ICC with respect to the charges against the former president on alleged crimes against humanity related to the drug war,” said the lawmaker,  who is a known human rights defender.  

BIGGER SENATE MINORITY BLOC?

With only three weeks before the President delivers his third State of the Nation Address (SONA) which will also signal the resumption of session of both Houses of Congress, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III dashed the hope of many of seeing an increased membership of the so-called chamber fiscalizers. 

“That’s what we wish for, pero may nabasa rin ako na pronouncement nila na, the six will prefer to be independent. So, two pa rin kami,” Pimentel said. 

Hopes to seeing a bigger Senate Minority Bloc went up, following the ouster of Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri as Senate President.

Joining Zubiri’s side are Senators Nancy Binay, Win Gatchalian, JV Ejercito, Joel Villanueva, Loren Legarda and Sonny Angara, who was recently appointed as Education Secretary.

Pimentel, who also sits as President of PDP-Laban which remains in a legal tussle with the group of former president Rodrigo Duterte, said they were only waiting for the Supreme Court’s ruling on whose camp should really own PDP-Laban.

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Without such ruling, the PDP-Laban cannot field its Senate candidates.

“Yung actually kalaban namin sa kaso, wala na, ni hindi na member nung other side. Kasi yung mga leaders ng faction na yun na umagaw sa amin at tinalo kami sa Comelec, ni wala na ngayon sa faction na yun. Yung isa yata lumipat na sa ibang partido, yung isa yata nag-resign na rin yung pumalit sa kanya... maybe the subsequent developments may be used to bring it to the attention of the Supreme Court,” Pimentel said.

“Hindi ako nakatingin sa 2025 (elections) as a group we should be fielding a candidate,” he added.

“As an informal group nagdi-discussion pa kami. But I cannot bring the name of the party until I win the case at the Supreme Court,” Pimentel said.