In a statement, LP Director General Gladys Sta. Rita
confirmed the party had not issued a Certificate of Nomination and Acceptance
(CONA) for any official LP candidate for governor in Rizal.
Salonga is running as an independent against former Rizal
Governor Rebecca "Nini" Ynares of the Nationalist People's Coalition
and another independent candidate, Anamariela Bush.
Salonga, who is an LP member, earlier told the Philippine
Daily Inquirer that he felt abandoned by his own party after it refused to
endorse his candidacy. He also questioned the LP's disturbing and aggressive
alliances” with dynasties and traditional politicians at the local level.
LP Secretary General Mel Sarmiento said the LP "makes
decisions on who should be its candidates in certain areas based on careful
scrutiny of their qualifications, track record, organizational capability, as
well as their ability to sustain a campaign."
He said the party has to consider not just local politics
but the future of President Aquino's reform agenda.
"This requires that, at both the local and national
levels, the party's candidates should be committed to this reform agenda of
inclusive growth and good governance. This is the reason why the LP enters into
temporary alliances or coalitions with certain individuals and political
formations," he explained.
In the case of Rizal, he said the party studied carefully
the political dynamics in Rizal and decided against fielding its candidate for
the gubernatorial post.
Sarmiento said the LP acknowledges the contributions of
former Senate President Salonga not only to the party but to the nation as a
whole. Salonga has been afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease for the last two
years and is being fed through a tube after he suffered a stroke.
"We consider him an elder statesman whose contributions
to nation-building have been immense. The party will always be grateful to him
for his able and competent leadership of it over the years," Sarmiento
said.
He added that the LP understands the younger Salonga's
position. "We wish him all the best in his candidacy," he said.
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