Kiko Pangilinan Resigns as President of Liberal Party (Official Statement)
KIKO PANGILINAN – Senator Francis Pangilinan issued an official statement as he resigns from being the president of the Liberal Party (LP).
In the Election 2019 senatorial race, among the candidates are the eight(8) members of the opposition slate – Otso Diretso. They are the following:
- Bam Aquino
- Gary Alejano
- Chel Diokno
- Samira Gutoc
- Florin Hilbay
- Romulo Macalintal
- Mar Roxas
- Erin Tañada
Except for Hilbay and Macalintal, the other six(6) senatorial candidates of the Otso Diretso are from the Liberal Party, the party where Vice President Leni Robredo came from. Currently, the LP President is Sen. Kiko Pangilinan.
Sen. Pangilinan is one of those who put up the Otso Diretso and greatly helped in campaigning for them. However, the Election 2019 senatorial race results seem to be not in favor for the opposition group. Not one of them is consistent on the Magic 12 in partial results.
Sen. Bam Aquino is the Otso Diretso bet who is closest to the Magic 12. There were several election updates of him being included in the Top 12 and going back to Top 13 or 14 again. In the latest partial results, he’s not included in the Magic 12.
Amid the standing of the Otso Diretso in the Election 2019, Sen. Kiko Pangilinan decided to resign as the president of the Liberal Party. Based on a report on Pep, he has tendered his resignation to Vice President Leni Robredo.
The resignation of the LP President is over the loss of the senatorial candidates from their party. He is taking full responsibility over it thus he decided to leave his post. Here’s the official statement of the Senator:
“As campaign manager for the Otso Diretso slate, I was unable to ensure our victory in the elections and I therefore assume full responsibility for the outcome and hold myself primarily accountable for this defeat and have tendered my resignation as president of the LP effective June 30, 2019.”
According to the report, LP Vice Chairperson Franklin Drilon also released a statement admitting their surprise over the decision of Sen. Pangilinan. He stressed the hard work of the Senator in campaigning for the Otso Diretso candidates.
The LP Vice Chairperson said that they are still hoping that Sen. Pangilinan would change his mind.
“While his resignation is a class act, we hope that he will reconsider his decision. We will try to convince him to reconsider and ask the party leadership to not accept his resignation,” he said.