ANGARA ELECTED VICE PRESIDENT OF CENTRIST DEMOCRAT INTERNATIONAL

Rome, Italy, September 22, 2012-Senator Edgardo J. Angara was today elected Vice President of the Centrist Democrat International (CDI) during the organization’s biennial Leaders' Meeting in Rome, Italy.

Angara, who attended the meeting as President of the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP), was elected to the position alongside Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy (Spain), Prime Minister Viktor Orban (Hungary) and Prime Minister Antonio Samaras (Greece). Angara will be representing the Asia-Pacific region.

"The CDI is highly respected across the world," said Angara, the longest serving senator in the post-EDSA Senate. "To be elected to a key position in this institution is a distinct honor for me."

The Centrist Democrat International, originally Christian Democratic International, is an alliance of democratic political parties with membership in 62 countries across the globe. Currently, only the Philippines and Cambodia represent Southeast Asia in the organization.

Founded in 1961, the CDI is the leading global international political group that strongly advocates for core values of human dignity, human rights, women’s rights, and interfaith dialogue and cooperation.

Angara said, "By linking with like-minded political organizations in other countries, the LDP hopes to strengthen its position as a truly platform-driven political party."

Angara is the main proponent of the Political Party Development Act (Senate Bill No. 3124), which aims to institutionalize a strong political party system in the country.

“One major factor that makes our political parties weak is their dependency on personalities rather than issues and political platforms,” said Angara.

“Political parties ought to advocate for clear-cut programs which can define their organization and its members. Only then will people start trusting political parties and not view them as mere vehicles for personalities to exercise power.”

The veteran lawmaker continued, “Our adhesion to the CDI is a strong statement on the commitment of the LDP to work for political party reform and provide strong leadership in promoting democracy and liberty in the Philippines and in Asia.”

The Meeting, which runs until September 22, is attended by other key world leaders, among them President Giorgo Napolitano and Prime Minister Maro Monti of Italy.

Angara is also set to meet with His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI in Castel Gandolfo, the Pope's Official Summer Residence.