Drilon welcomes Supreme Court ruling on LP leadership dispute

MANILA, Philippines – Former Senate President and Liberal Party National Chairman Frank Drilon welcomed yesterday the decision of the Supreme Court affirming the LP leadership under party president Sen. Mar Roxas and dismissing the petition of expelled members led by former environment secretary Lito Atienza Jr.

“With finality, the Supreme Court has spoken and has upheld the legitimate leadership of the Liberal Party,” Drilon said. “This decision closes the book on this illicit attempt of President Arroyo’s cronies to hijack the LP through unprincipled, underhanded and unscrupulous means.”

In a unanimous vote on Wednesday, the Supreme Court affirmed the Commission on Elections’ decision to uphold Roxas’ election on Nov. 26, 2007 as party president as well as the party’s decision to expel a group of “pro-administration” members led by Atienza.

“We are glad that the Supreme Court saw the light because we had no doubt that from the start, we stood on very legal grounds. The SC ruling is a reaffirmation of the validity of the actions taken by the party since I was elected as president after Atienza and his cohorts decided to break away from the party’s ideals,” Drilon said.

The High Court upheld the decision of the LP leadership, then under LP President Drilon, to expel from its ranks Atienza, Reps. Matias Defensor Jr. of Quezon City, Rodolfo Valencia of Oriental Mindoro, Danilo Suarez of Quezon, Solomon Chungalao of Ifugao, Antique Gov. Salvacion Zaldivar-Perez, former representatives Harlin Castillo-Abayon of Northern Samar and former LP director general Eleazar Quinto for acts of disloyalty and violation of the LP by-laws when they tried to wrest the party leadership in March 2006.

Drilon, now the leading LP senatorial candidate for the May polls, explained that the Supreme Court ruling junked Atienza’s claim that he and his allies were denied due process when they were expelled by the party’s national executive council.

“The High Court upheld the expulsion of Atienza and his group when it decided that such an expulsion was an intra-party dispute under which the Commission on Elections cannot intervene, given the limited scope of its power over political parties,” he added.

Drilon said Atienza “should stop campaigning as a LP mayoralty candidate… Mayor Alfredo Lim is the Liberal candidate in Manila.”

Drilon said with Lim’s support, Manila is one of the major bailiwicks of LP presidential candidate Benigno Aquino Jr. and his running mate, Roxas. “We expect to win and Noynoy and Mar will win big in Manila,” Drilon said.