The Philippine Online Chronicles

Quezon City Mayor Feliciano “Sonny” Belmonte Jr. and Vice Mayor Herbert “Bistek” Bautista have joined the Liberal Party (LP).

Manila Bulletin reported that Belmonte will be leading the mass oath-taking ceremony of QC’s elective officials on Thursday, November 19 at the Amoranto Stadium. The mass oath-taking will reportedly take place on the same day as the Lakas-Kampi national convention presents 2010 bets former Defense Secretary Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro and actor Edu Manzano.

Belmonte, who was a former vice president for external affairs and chairman of the QC chapter of Lakas, is reportedly running for congressman of QC’s fourth district, while Bautista will run as city Mayor.

According to former QC councilor Senator Francis Pangilinan, one of the instruments for the negotiations for the departure, Belmonte and Bautista decided to leave Lakas-Kampi after they visited QC executives.

Meanwhile, Valenzuela councilor Shalani Soledad (Sen. Benigno Aquino III’s girlfriend) has resigned from her Lakas membership last Tuesday to join the LP.

Her political adviser told Manila Standard Today that Soledad is not taking advatage of Noynoy's fame. “If you will review from the start, Lans was not even noticed during former President Cory’s wake. Naging interesado lang media sa kanya when Kris Aquino requested his brother Noynoy not to get married yet."

Former Senator Sergio Osmeña III, on the other hand, has confirmed that he has left the LP, in opposition to former Senator Ralph Recto’s entry.

"I told Butch [Abad] that if Ralph is in, then I'm out," he said to GMANews.TV.