Like Lazarus, Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats—the party that propelled Presidents Fidel V. Ramos and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to the highest position in the land, is stirring up and getting ready for resurrection.
All but abandoned by its members, the same politicians who at one time or another won under the party are returning.
This as House Minority Leader and Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez announced his return to the Lakas-CMD under the leadership of Philippine Constitution Association (Philconsa) president Martin Romualdez.
Romualdez, the former House Independent Bloc Leader and a three-term congressman of Leyte, is the Lakas-CMD president while former Senator Ramon Revilla Jr. is the party chairman.
“Lakas will be lakas again! [Lakas will be powerful again],” said Suarez. “I went back to Lakas-[CMD],” he added.
Suarez lost the Lakas-CMD leadership when he lost in the three-cornered race for the minority leader post in the House in the 16th Congress.
Suarez has resigned as president of the United Nationalist Alliance, whose standard bearer, former Vice President Jejomar Binay, lost the presidency to President Rodrigo Duterte.
With his comeback to the then ruling party, Suarez said “I am not surprised if [Gloria Macapagal Arroyo] will return.”
Arroyo is currently a member of President Duterte’s Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Laban.
The former president has yet to be given a significant role in the PDP-Laban although she in effect deposed the PDP-Laban secretary general, Davao del Norte Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez, the position, when she was overwhelmingly elected Speaker a few hours before Duterte delivered his third State of the Nation Address.
Suarez disclosed that his previous party, UNA, replaced him as its party president last week without informing him about the former vice president’s decision.
“We are strengthening the party, we are asking those who left to return,” said Suarez who bared that Lakas-CMD has forged an alliance with Hugpong ng Pagbabago Party (HPP) under Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte.
Lakas-CMD is also expected to field senatorial candidates in the 2019 mid-term elections.
Last week, Deputy Speaker and Sulu Rep. Munir Arbison took his oath as Lakas-CMD member before Romualdez and Pichay, the party secretary general, at the Social Hall of the House’s Speaker’s Office at the Batasan Complex.
In the same office last Monday, Pichay and Lakas-CMD Region 8 chairperson and Leyte Rep. Yedda Marie Romualdez, who chairs the House committee on accounts, also administered the oath of its new members from Samar.