MANILA: POLITICS – Darkness shrouds Philippines (PH) — Vice President Leni Robredo

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Vice President Leni Robredo rallied the remaining members of the Liberal Party to remain true to what is right and not lose heart in the face of the “darkness” shrouding the nation.

Wearing black during the party’s 72nd anniversary celebration, Robredo lauded members who remained with the once-powerful party despite its waning influence under the Duterte administration.

“Many ask us if there is still hope, where we are headed. Darkness envelops us. But we should not lose hope. Our party history is about fighting,” Robredo told members of the LP, which she chairs.

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Courage, shame

Robredo also lauded new party members for having “the courage to join up. At a time when many people are ashamed of having been members of the party, you are still here, standing, fighting for your beliefs.”

Robredo noted that LP’s membership also dwindled during the dictatorship of the late tyrant Ferdinand Marcos.

“It seems history is repeating itself. But it wasn’t the numbers that mattered then. What mattered was the strength of our conviction. What mattered was how strongly we fought,” she said.

“In the end, what is right always wins. But what is right will only prevail if we don’t stop fighting for it,” the Vice President added.

Butterflies

As with all Filipino political parties, the LP lost most of its members since President Duterte assumed office with many of LP members, including some of its highest ranking leaders, jumping ship to the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), which replaced the LP as the ruling party.

But LP has since changed its strategy from recruiting politicians to signing up people from the grassroots.

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“While some of our members are leaving the party, it is not true that the party will disappear. Our party will grow stronger because you are joining us,” said LP president, Sen. Francis Pangilinan, who welcomed new members in Cebu City.

‘Do not go quietly into the night’

“We in the Liberal Party, have been through hell and back. And we in the Liberal Party, to borrow and paraphrase the words from the poet Dylan Thomas: ‘We will not go quietly into this dark night’,” he said.

“The future of the party does not rest on politicians, but on the people. It’s time to be a party of the people. A party composed of the people,” said Sen. Bam Aquino, one of the party’s four incumbent senators.

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