LP may join House Minority bloc; other options also possible 鈥� De Lima
Party-list representative-elect Leila De Lima
MANILA, Philippines — Liberal Party (LP) members who will get seats in the House of Representatives are still deliberating whether they should join the Minority bloc or make their own personal decisions, former senator and party-list representative-elect Leila de Lima said on Monday.
De Lima, who will get a seat in the House for the 20th Congress through the Mamamayang Liberal (ML) party-list, explained to reporters at the Batasang Pambansa that different options are still being explored.
The former senator said this after emerging from the office of incumbent Minority Leader and 4Ps party-list Rep. Marcelino Libanan, who held a meeting for members of the Minority. De Lima said Libanan, who is reportedly seeking the Minority Leader post again for the 20th Congress, invited them to join the Minority bloc.
“We have been asked, we have been invited to join, but right now we are still considering our options, we have to listen to them and anyway […] it’s not yet time for us to be deciding at this point. So joining the Minority is one of them, actually I can say one of the strongest options,” De Lima said.
READ: De Lima says she can’t work with Duterte bloc in House minority
“But they’re all still on the table, all possible options and possibilities are still on the table insofar as LP and ML are concerned, because we have heard that Rep. Nonoy Libanan will most probably be the, be considering to run as Minority Leader, so this group now are among the parties that may join the Minority. But then again, it’s not finished, these talks are not final,” he added.
When asked if she is okay with the possibility that she and allies of former president Rodrigo Duterte—who are critical of incumbent President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his cousin House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez—would be together in the Minority, De Lima said no.
De Lima also mentioned that having personal decisions and choices may be a possibility. This, she said, includes imitating what the late LP president and former Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman did—become an “independent minority” member.
“If you’ll ask me, no,” De Lima said regarding possibly joining Duterte allies in the Minority bloc. “It’s my personal take, but again, we really need to have a discussion as a group, as a party, as a collective.”
READ: Majority of LP members now part of House’s supermajority bloc
“Although eventually one possibility that I see there, okay, there will be some that will be joining the Minority, some will be joining the Majority. So if there will be no consensus, as a collective, as a group, then we will base it on our personal decision — and we’ll be respecting each other’s decision,” she added.
Previously, there were reports that LP will be joining the Majority, supporting Romualdez’ reelection as House Speaker once the 20th Congress commences.
Last May 25, Deputy Speaker David Suarez announced that four out of the six LP members in the 20th Congress are now part of the supermajority coalition in the House, backing Romualdez’ leadership.
Aside from the LP, Suarez said the supermajority bloc consists of Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats, the Nacionalista Party, National Unity Party, Nationalist People’s Coalition, Partido Federal ng Pilipinas, and the Party-list Coalition Foundation Inc.
This new supermajority, Suarez said, shows that President Marcos’ call for unity still stands.
READ: Marcos’ unity call prevails in House as proven by supermajority – solon
When asked if these statements from Suarez are not true with LP exploring the possibility of joining the Minority, De Lima said she would not call it untrue—just unconfirmed yet on their part.
“I cannot say if it is true or not, nobody has confirmed with us, with our group, nobody has mentioned anything categorical. Although we know that some have the inclination to join the Majority. As much as possible, we should have a consensus. We should have a decision as a party, collectively. But we might not be able to avoid resorting to personal decisions, individual decisions,” she added.
De Lima and the ML party-list are entering the House of Representatives at a crucial time, as the political divide in the country gets more intense. Even before she gets a seat, De Lima was offered to be part of the House’s prosecution panel for the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
The former senator was the spokesperson of the first group which filed impeachment raps against Duterte last December 2, 2025. Eventually, that complaint was consolidated into a fourth petition, which was filed and verified by 215 House lawmakers.
With the number of filers reaching over one-thirds, the articles of impeachment was immediately forwarded to the Senate as Article XI, Section 3(4) of the 1987 Constitution states that if a verified impeachment complaint is “filed by at least one-third of all the Members of the House”, an impeachment trial shall proceed forthwith.
One-thirds of the House is 102 out of 306 members. /cb
