The Liberal Party as a “company union”

The veteran Albay congressman, Edcel Lagman calls his own party, the LP as the new company union. For those who are not familiar with this colloquial term, a company union is one which does not really work for the welfare and interests of union members but is a puppet of management so as to prevent the entry of the true and legitimate labor organization. What Lagman really means is that the LP, or whatever little of it that remains standing has allowed itself to be co-opted by the super majority both in the Senate and in the House. The LP has become a virtual "collaborator" or a "Makapili" whose members have betrayed the principles of that great party.

The LP was the party of Presidents Manuel Acuna Roxas, Elpedio Quirino, Ramon Magsaysay (a member of the Quirino Cabinet who shifted to NP and challenged his boss and defeated him), of Diosdado Macapagal, the father of GMA, and even of President Ferdinand Marcos (before he shifted to NP to run against Macapagal and defeated him). This was also the party of such great leaders as Ninoy Aquino,Ramon Mitra, our very own nino bonito then, Serging Osmeña, and the then very young congressman, later senator John "Sonny" Osmeña. Now, the LP has become a company union. Sayang naman. What a pity!

The LP was also the party of the great senators Ambrosio Padilla, Francisco Soc Rodrigo, Maria Kalaw Katigbak, Tecla San Andres Ziga, Camilo Osias and even our own Mariano Jesus Cuenco and Manuel Cuenco party after the Osmeña-Cuenco fusion. It was the party of Dr.Osmundo Rama (the late uncle of former Mayor Mike Rama and brother of the famous Free Press writer Napoleon Rama) who run and won over the NPs and KBLs Dona Beatriz Duterte Durano, the wife of Don Ramon Durano. The LP was also the party of Governor Rene Espina who was the youngest SSS administrator appointed by Marcos. But now the LP is reduced to being a collaborator.

Instead of standing on the LP principles like what Senator Ralph Recto did in the Senate, such Senators as Bam Aquino, the first cousin of PNoy, then LP titular head, as well the party of Leila de Lima who was a member of the PNoy Cabinet, and Riza Hontiveros who won under the LP ticket, and even, hold your breath, former senate president Franklin Drilon himself who led the exodus to the side of PDP and masterminded the coronation of Nene Pimentel's son. If Marc Anthony were here, and if this were the Roman Senate, he would cry: "Oh judgment, thou art fled to brutish beasts and men have lost their reasons."

Which is more important to these traditional politicians: principles or the politics of convenience? Was this conspiracy of collaboration the only means to survive under the super majority? And so, we have a Senate with only Recto, Trillanes, and Escudero standing to raise issues of principles and defend the minority? We have a House whose rag tag minority could not even agree who should lead them? It seems that the nation has deteriorated to the level of the KBL days, where the only opposition was the Pusyon Bisaya, a party that was hurriedly formed and later suspected as a secret creation of Marcos himself to show the world that there was still democracy under Martial Law. Today, we do not have any opposition which is what matters most in a genuine democracy. Sayang.