Another Defensor touted for senate run, again

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

Will Iloilo Third District Rep. Lorenz Defensor succeed where his father, former governor Arthur Defensor Sr., failed?

Discussions surrounding potential senatorial bids are unfolding, and the name of Iloilo Third District Rep. Lorenz R. Defensor has emerged among the list of preferred senatorial candidates for the 2025 midterm elections.

Defensor, in an interview, neither confirmed nor denied any plans to run for the Senate but said he is “humbled that my colleagues in the House of Representatives value my performance.”

“I always take this with humility. It’s difficult to lead something we have no control over, but we will always listen to the Ilonggos and the people of Visayas because it all begins with the people if they still want someone from the Visayas. We will leave it to the people,” he said during a groundbreaking ceremony in Janiuay last week.

“I believe that an Ilonggo senator has so much to bring just like what former senators Franklin Drilon and Miriam Defensor Santiago did,” he added.

Santiago is an aunt of Rep. Defensor and cousin of the latter’s father, ex-Iloilo governor Arthur Sr.

Former governor Arthur Defensor Sr. also ran for Senator in the May 11, 1987 elections but lost after landing on the 26th spot with 7.8 million votes or 34.59 percent of ballots cast. Apparently, his stint as a commissioner of the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG, the body tasked to trace and seize the ill-gotten wealth of the Marcos family) and his inclusion in the administration coalition Lakas ng Bayan (LABAN) were not enough to bolster his Senate run.

Juan Ponce Enrile, the former Defense minister of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr., even edged out Defensor Sr. after landing in the Magic 24 on the 24th spot.

The LABAN coalition at that time also included political and intellectual giants in the Philippines such as Jovito Salonga, Rene Saguisag, Raul Manglapus, Wigberto Tañada, Alberto Romulo, Leticia Ramos-Shahani, Heherson Alvarez, Teofisto Guingona Jr., Mamintal Tamano, among others.

TO RUN OR NOT TO RUN?

While no confirmation was given, Rep. Defensor emphasized the significance of having an Ilonggo representative in the Senate for the economic progress of Iloilo.

“What’s important is if we will have a senator from the Visayas, we choose someone that has the capacity to lead, has the intelligence, has no records of corruption or in the courts, and someone we can be proud of since the senators that are coming from Iloilo has a left us a good track record,” he furthered.

The Ilonggo lawmaker also emphasized that the decision to pursue a Senate seat ultimately rests with his political party.

Defensor stressed the complexity of uniting support not only within the Visayas region but also across the 17 regions of the country.

“It’s easy to say that we can unite here in the Visayas but we also have to understand that there are 17 regions and we need to also gather votes from Mindanao and Luzon,” he added.

“That is why we are still humbled by the support shown by Ilonggos and I am very happy to continue representing the Ilonggos in wherever it will be,” he said.

Defensor, currently serving his second term as representative of the third district of Iloilo, confirmed that he will stay with the National Unity Party (NUP) and clarified that he has no plans to shift to the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP), the political party of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

“My position in the House of Representatives as a deputy majority leader is where a big chunk of my funds come from and my eldest brother (Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Jr.) understands that if I leave the NUP, that position allocated in the NUP will be lost and this will be a big loss to projects and programs of the third district of Iloilo,” he said.

The eldest Defensor took oath as a member of the PFP in August 2023. He said the party shift brings an “alignment [which] is better for the total development of the province.”

Governor Arthur Defensor, in an ambush interview on April 10, expressed his support for his younger brother’s potential Senate bid.

“Region 6 needs a representative in the national level exercise and in the Congress, both in the House of the Representatives and the Senate. That is a welcome development,” he added.

Meanwhile, Uswag Ilonggo Party-list Rep. James “Jojo” Ang said there are informal discussions among lawmakers in the House of Representatives, considering Lorenz Defensor as a viable senatorial candidate.

“We are talking about it and it seems that they are considering him (Lorenz Defensor). The one who sees it is not from Iloilo but from another province and that is where it started,” he said.