Robredo swears in new Liberal Party members in Negros Occidental

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines – Vice President Leni Robredo swore in 67 new members of Liberal Party (LP) from Negros Occidental on Thursday, June 14, at the Mayfair Plaza.

Robredo was here for the unveiling of “Istorya ng Pag-asa Negros Occidental” photo gallery at the Vianney Hall in Bishop’s House.

“They applied online. We are happy because at a time when the party is down, at a time that the party is being portrayed to be bad, at a time that they say that yellow fellows are bad persons, here are your fellow Bacolodnons and Negrenses who said that they want to join the party because they believe in the principles that the party has been fighting for,” the Vice President said.

She said the new members were non-politicians, adding that the direction of LP is to recruit non-politicians “because the 2016 elections gave us the lesson that is it really hard to rely on politicians because of so many considerations that are beyond our control.”

“It is much better to open the party membership to non-politicians because we are assured that they join the party not to win the election but because we have the same principles,” she said.

She said they have been doing this around the country – like in Pampanga, Bicol, and even in Metro Manila. “We have been getting members who are not connected to politics.”

She added she was also supposed to lead the oath taking of new members in Iloilo, but the schedule was reset.

Negros Occidental is a known bailiwick of LP 2016 standard-bearer Manuel “Mar” Roxas II, as his mother, Judy Araneta Roxas, is from Bago City.

Majority of the officials in Negros Occidental, including its capital Bacolod City, supported the bid of Roxas, who had an overwhelming victory in in the province in the 2016 polls.

But after President Rodrigo Duterte won the elections, more than 200 officials of Negros Occidental took their oath as members of his Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas Ng Bayan or PDP-Laban. – Rappler.com