KIKO ON LP FORGING PARTNERSHIPS WITH OTHER PARTIES:
OK AS LONG AS IT'S CLEAR PNOY CALLS THE SHOTS

Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan says that political parties looking to coalesce with the Liberal Party are welcome, as long as they know who's in charge.

"For as long as it is understood that they, too, will support the anti-corruption and anti-poverty agenda of the President, then they have a seat in the table. Having said this, it should also be very clear to our coalition partners that it is President Aquino who sits at the head of the table and it is his reform agenda that is to be pursued. The moment any of our allies become stumbling blocks to reforms then it would be time to part ways."

Pangilinan continues, "Nelson Mandela once said that in a democracy we need to learn to work with people we dislike, in reference to those who in the past supported apartheid. For as long as we are all clear that it is the President who calls the shots, then it is incumbent upon the LP to build the broadest unity possible among various political forces willing to lend their support to the President's reform agenda."