3 Liberal Party members and an ally are stripped of their committee chairmanships in the Senate

MANILA, Philippines – Vice President Leni Robredo on Monday, February 27, lashed out against the Duterte administration for being "obsessed with monopolizing power and intent on marginalizing those who have opposing views." “But despite our sincere efforts, it is now clear that the Duterte administration is incapable of tolerating dissent, no matter how constructive.”

Senate President Pro Tempore Franklin Drilon has been replaced by Senator Ralph Recto. Robredo said democracy demanded dissent, and that critics of the administration would “not be silenced.”

Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III, Mr. Duterte’s right-hand man in the Senate, defended the expulsion of the LP senators, saying the majority “decided that to best achieve the legislative agenda, clear lines have to be drawn.”

But, he said in a statement, the Senate would “remain independent and true to its role as the last bastion of democracy in our country.”

Drilon said the realignment happened because it was a “numbers game.”

“They have the numbers,” he said, reminding Pimentel that the LP supported him in the race for Senate President. De Lima has vehemently denied the charges, which she says are part of Duterte's attempt to intimidate critics of his crackdown, which has left more than 7,000 drug suspects dead.
The Liberal Party of the Philippines, the party of vice president Leni Robredo and detained senator Leila de Lima, formally becomes the opposition after its members and its ally from the Akbayan party are ousted from key positions in the Senate.