[av_one_full first min_height=” vertical_alignment=” space=” custom_margin=” margin=’0px’ padding=’0px’ border=” border_color=” radius=’0px’ background_color=” src=” background_position=’top left’ background_repeat=’no-repeat’ animation=”]
[av_heading heading=’Liberal solons not obstructing legislature – Pangilinan’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
By Prince Golez, Manila Reporter
[/av_heading]
[av_textblock size=” font_color=’custom’ color=’#0a0a0a’]
Wednesday, March 1, 2017
[/av_textblock]
[av_textblock size=” font_color=’custom’ color=’#0a0a0a’]
MANILA – The Liberal Party (LP) leadership denied hampering legislative work at the Senate.
More than majority of the bills (20 of 29) have the support of LP senators, said Sen. Francis Pangilinan, LP’s Acting president.
“It is simply untrue that LP Senators hampered the legislative agenda. How is this possible when two out of the administration’s three priorities – death penalty and the lowering of criminal age of responsibility – are with the justice committee and not our committees,” Pangilinan said.
The lawmaker was reacting to Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III’s statement that LP members were removed from their committee chairmanships because “work in the Senate has been hampered by the blurring of the lines between the majority and the minority to the detriment of public interest.”
Those who voted against the Senate ratification of this year’s national budget, he added, did not come from the opposition LP. The only other law passed under the Duterte government was the postponement of the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan polls, which was originally scheduled in October 2016.
According to Pangilinan, senators belonging to the LP were only divided in the majority on four issues. These are the burial of then President Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, extrajudicial killings, investigation on the alleged bribery in the Bureau of Immigration, and the testimony of retired SPO3 Arturo Lascañas.
“It is therefore inaccurate and factually erroneous to say that the reorganization was due to hampered work. On the contrary it was undertaken to ensure that the Senate toes the line on issues that may have a negative impact on the administration,” he explained.
“Nevertheless, despite having a different stance on several life-and-death issues that impact our people’s lives, we remained with the majority in the Senate because this precisely allowed us to work as our oath of office requires.”
Pangilinan assured that LP is supportive of the administration’s efforts to improve the quality of life and will remain critical of government’s inaction.
Other LP senators are Franklin Drilon, Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV, Leila de Lima, Ralph Recto, and adopted member Risa Hontiveros of Akbayan./PN
[/av_textblock]
[/av_one_full]
