THE Atienza wing of the Liberal Party on
Friday clarified that there are still outstanding issues that
need to be resolved before it reconciles with the bloc headed by
former Senate president Franklin Drilon.
House deputy speaker Eric Singson, a member
of the Atienza bloc, said there are no official talks yet
between the two groups.
Mindoro Rep. Alfonso Umali, a close friend of
Sen. Benigno Aquino III who belongs to the Drilon faction, said
on Thursday that he had been informed by Quezon Rep. Danilo
Suarez of the Atienza wing that they were now willing to
reconcile with the Drilon group.
"Every member of the Liberal Party – from our
highest officials to our lowliest member – would dearly love to
see our Party become one again, that is not in contention,"
Singson said, "but the sentiment of our group was that there are
outstanding issues that need to be resolved between the two
factions of the LP before a true reconciliation happens.
"Reunification has always been a serious
concern for us all, and Congressman Suarez was, in his own
initiative, merely conveying to our colleagues in Congress from
the other faction our interest in re-opening the dialogue
between our two groups," Singson clarified. "But there are no
official talks yet, neither have we authorized any emissary to
express our supposed ‘capitulation’ to Drilon’s people."
"Mr. Drilon and company haven’t apologized to
the LP for their sins. Before we even begin talks of
reconciliation, the issues that split us have to be resolved
first," Antique Gov. Sally Zaldivar-Perez said.
The Atienza group also blasted the leak from
the Drilon wing, accusing their erstwhile colleagues of souring
relations further even before talks could be resumed.
"Why did they make public a simple exchange
of information between Congressmen Suarez and Umali? And why did
they spin this innocent dialogue to make it look like we’re
‘admitting defeat’?" former Northern Samar Rep. Harlin Cast-Abayon
said. "Here we are, genuinely concerned about the future of the
Party, and they deal with us in bad faith again, just like what
they’ve been doing since 8 July 2005.
"All they won was the legal battle on the
question of whether Drilon’s term of office as LP president
ended last July 2005 or will end in November of this year. But
the issue that started this all, which was when they betrayed
the LP and President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who is our
honorary chairperson, on 8 July 2005 when they called for the
resignation, ouster or impeachment of the President, has never
been resolved," Abayon added.
"I think this press release from the Drilon
wing just shows what we’ve been telling people all along that
they have been dealing with us in bad faith," Eli Quinto, a
longtime director general of the LP, said. "For months after
July 8, we called on Drilon to convene the National Executive
Council, and he refused. Throughout the legal battles after our
ouster of him, they remained unwilling to engage in constructive
dialogue with us.
"And now, with reunification talks between us
not even at first base, they make a simple discussion between
our congressmen public, and spin it this badly? They even have
this trial balloon from unnamed ‘sources’ that says we’re
entering into the talks simply to cause trouble." Quinto added.
"This deception is typical of the Drilon group."
Quinto thanked the Drilon wing though, for
recognizing that the Atienza wing is the majority of the LP,
when the unnamed "sources" admitted that the Atienza wing "has
enough numbers to seize the leadership control of the LP."
"This is the first right thing they’ve done in this whole
issue," he said.
