Angara vouches for Drilon as next Senate president

MANILA, Philippines - Former senator Edgardo Angara yesterday expressed confidence that Sen. Franklin Drilon will be given the opportunity to become Senate president in the 16th Congress.

Angara said Drilon deserves to be the next Senate president since he is a senior senator, apart from being one of the top leaders of the administration-backed Liberal Party (LP).

“He is a very experienced legislator, a lawmaker, and after the success of managing his (political) party and managing a successful campaign, I think is an indication he can be a good executive,” Angara said.

“The President is the titular head, while (Interior Secretary) Mar (Roxas) is the president. (Drilon) is third-ranking as vice-president (of LP)… Among the senators belonging to the party, he is probably the most senior so hindi lang bayad utang (it is not just paying a debt),” he clarified.

Angara is a founder of the Angara, Abello, Concepcion, Regala and Cruz Law Offices (ACCRALAW), one of the prominent law offices in the country. He recalled that Drilon was one of the six former associates whom he recruited and eventually became brilliant members of the Philippine Senate.

It takes good “people skill” for a Senate leader to get the full cooperation of his colleagues since the Senate chief goes through the tedious issue of designating committee chairmanships and memberships, Angara noted.

In maintaining a constant and efficient communication with the Palace, Angara said the next Senate president should “think of a mechanism” and the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council is “already there.”