VICE-PRESIDENT Maria Leonor G. Robredo on Tuesday rejected the resignations of two leaders of the opposition Liberal Party (LP), Senator Francis N. Pangilinan as party president and Quezon City-6th district Rep. Jose Christopher Y. Belmonte as secretary-general.

In a statement on Tuesday, Mr. Pangilinan said, “As campaign manager for the Otso Diretso (senatorial) slate, I was unable to ensure our victory in the elections and I therefore assume full responsibility for the outcome and hold myself primarily accountable for this defeat.”

But Ms. Robredo, the LP’s chairperson, rejected the resignations of both Messrs. Pangilinan and Belmonte, according to her spokesperson, lawyer Ibarra M. Gutierrez.

“The VP has not accepted Senator Kiko’s and Cong. Kit’s resignations. Much work remains to be done, and they will do it, together,” Mr. Gutierrez said in a statement to the media.

The LP-led senatorial slate was effectively wiped out in the midterm elections, which supporters of the opposition party saw as a referendum on President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s administration. The 12 winning candidates in the senatorial race are dominated by Mr. Duterte’s allies.

For his part, Ifugao Rep. Teodoro B. Baguilat, Jr., the LP’s vice-president for internal affairs, said in a social media post, “The LP leadership’s faith in Sen. Kiko remains solid as ever. Seeing how he poured his entire heart into the campaign, lalo pa ngang tumaas respeto namin sa kanya (the more this inspired our respect).” — C.A. Tadalan

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