LP head Drilon gets support from Asian liberals

Embattled Senate President and Liberal Party (LP) head Franklin Drilon got some much-needed support of the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD), the regional grouping of liberal democrats in Asia, following moves from the local Liberal Party to discredit him.

The CALD has passed a resolution expressing its confidence behind the leadership of Drilon as CALD chairman in view of the failed attempt by Malacañang to sow intrigue within the ranks of the LP, the second oldest political party in the Philippines.  

In a separate statement, LP director Eli Quinto said LP officers have "laughed off the recent moves by a small party faction headed by ousted LP president Franklin Drilon," adding that the Drilon faction has been "habitually misrepresenting the LP."

In a press statement, CALD Executive Director John Coronel said the council’s executive committee passed Resolution No. 4 Series of 2006, during a CALD meeting in Siem Reap, Cambodia last April 26.

The resolution expressed the support of CALD member-parties behind the leadership of Drilon and LP stalwart Bukidnon Rep. Nereus Acosta, who is also CALD secretary-general.  

Drilon and Acosta are have been serving their two-year terms as CALD chairman and secretary-general, respectively, since October last year.

"Noting the current controversy within the Liberal Party of the Philippines, the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats asserts its fullest confidence in the current leadership of CALD and believes that this leadership best serves the interest of Liberalism in Asia at the current junction," the resolution said.

The resolution was signed by Member of Parliament Sam Rainsy, head of the Sam Rainsy Party of Cambodia; Rajiva Wijesinha, president of the Liberal Party of Sri Lanka; former MP Isra Sunthornvut of the Democrat Party of Thailand; state legislator Yong Dai Ying of the Parti Gerakan Rakyat of Malaysia; Chou Ching-Yu of the Democratic Progressive Party of Taiwan; and Nyo Myint of the National Council of the Union of Burma.

"The resolution simply means that the CALD member-parties are expressing their full support behind CALD chairman Drilon and secretary-general Acosta in view of the present internal conflict within the Liberal Party of the Philippines," Coronel said.

Quinto reacted strongly to the CALD resolution, saying Drilon and his "gang of five" again "misrepresented the LP, which currently chairs the CALD."

He slammed the "deception" he says Drilon "foisted" on CALD "by depicting (Drilon) as the leader of the party despite knowing that (Drilon) has been ousted by an overwhelming vote of the majority of LP members in a general assembly, which elected Manila Mayor Lito Atienza and other new party leaders, who should have officially represented the (LP) at the CALD meeting."

"What the small Drilon faction staged in Cambodia was nothing different (from) what they did at Club Filipino on July 8, 2005, when the misrepresented the party by railroading an LP decision to withdraw support from President Arroyo and her duly-elected government without consulting the whole party," Quinto said, adding that the Drilon faction "are very consistent in violating the democratic principles of the party."

Lawyer Antonio Gallardo, Drilon’s chief of staff, said the CALD resolution was triggered by reported attempts by the Atienza camp to discredit Drilon and other legitimate LP leaders through misrepresentation during the recently-concluded CALD Conference on "Public Accountability in Official Development Assistance" held in Siem Reap, Cambodia last April 26.

"The irresponsible attempts by Malacañang to discredit Drilon before an international liberal forum has apparently backfired," Gallardo said. The host officials of the Cambodia conference reprimanded and expelled the representative of Atienza for improper conduct and breach of protocol for distributing anti-Drilon propaganda materials during the CALD meeting.

LP vice president for the Visayas Gov. Sally Zaldivar-Perez said "it seems like (Drilon’s) group is running out of supporters, that’s why they are now dragging even foreign political parties into intra-local LP matters."

Perez added that these moves by Drilon’s faction of the LP are an admission of their lack of support within the LP, which replaced Drilon with Atienza during its national convention at the Manila Hotel on March 2.

LP deputy spokesman and Kabataang Liberal ng Pilipinas (Kalipi) president Manila Rep. Miles Roces advised the Drilon faction to stop misrepresenting the LP and sabotaging the party’s positions and decisions.

The Drilon faction "should quit their sour-graping and instead be mature enough to accept the fact that they have failed the party," Roces said. "The Liberals have already spoken and decided on the party leadership to be headed by Mayor Atienza, who reflects the LP’s true and genuine sentiments."

He also said Drilon "and his small group" are still LP members and "we invite them to just join the renewed and intensified efforts of the new leadership to strengthen the ranks of the LP nationwide, rather than destabilizing and sowing confusion and divisiveness among the party members."