Sara as opposition leader? Lagman says LP still the 'genuine opposition'

The Liberal Party (LP) remains the country's "genuine opposition," according to Albay Representative Edcel Lagman, despite some saying that Vice President Sara Duterte should now become opposition leader after she resigned from her Cabinet posts. 

"Vice President Duterte may assume the leadership of the partisan opposition to the Marcos Jr. administration, but LP remains the ideological and conscientious opposition to both the current administration and Duterte’s breakaway power bloc," LP's president said in a statement on Thursday. 

On Wednesday, the spokesperson from the previous administration, Harry Roque, claimed that Duterte is now the leader of the opposition after the supposed fallout of the Marcos-Duterte alliance dubbed as the Uniteam.

Lagman, however, believes otherwise.

"The LP continues to uphold its iconic principles on good governance, participatory democracy, constitutionalism, human rights protection, and anti-authoritarian rule, all of which are not in the track record of the leaders of the now-defunct Uniteam," said Lagman.

LP spokesperson and former Senator Leila de Lima, meanwhile, added that a genuine opposition leader has "accountability, is transparent and has a heart for the people."

"Sa kanyang pagbibitiw, wala namang naganap na pag-ako sa responsibilidad, o pagbabago ng mga prinsipyo at paninindigan. Paano naging oposisyon ang may pananagutang hanggang ngayon, sinisingil pa ng taumbayan?," de Lima added.

(There was no acceptance of responsibility, or change of principles and stances when she resigned. How can someone become the opposition if they haven't been made accountable.)

Opposition lawmakers from the Makabayan bloc, in a separate press conference, likewise rejected Roque's pitch, saying the Vice President never spoke against anti-people policies of the current administration.

"Opposition? Saan banda (how)? She was not even able to speak up on Chinese aggression in the West Philippine Sea," House Deputy Minority Leader France Castro said. --VAL, GMA Integrated News