Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), the party that has backed the political career of party stalwart and Vice President Jejomar Binay for more than decades, will not be there to support its former party chairman when he seeks the presidency in 2016.
This was bared Monday (June 15) by no less than PDP-Laban President, Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, who likewise revealed the party’s preference to endorse Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte should he decide to join the presidential derby next year.
According to Pimentel, they are ready to throw their support on Duterte — with PDP-Laban just waiting for the popular mayor’s announcement on whether or not he is joining next year’s presidential race.
“We are constantly meeting the party in small groups about 2016 plans — about our procedure in choosing candidates. But we let our potential standard bearer to come up with his own personal decision,” Pimentel said.
And while PDP-Laban hopes that Duterte will soon confirm his intentions for the 2016 elections, Pimentel said the party is also willing to endorse other presidential candidates in the event the feisty Davao mayor decides to bow out of the race — as long as their eventual bet would carry what PDP-Laban stands for.
Pimentel, however, clarified that Binay, who has been with the party since the PDP-Laban merger in 1983, is not on the list of candidates they are considering.
Pimentel replaced Binay as party chairman following the latter’s resignation from PDP-Laban last year due to internal differences. PDP-Laban, in turn, decided to leave the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA), the coalition forged by Binay and former president and incumbent Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada.
“Being a political party, ang paniniwala ko one of the functions and duties of a political party is to participate in elections — to educate the people about the issues,” Pimentel said. “(O)f course to support candidates on the basis of a shared political philosophy. Dapat ganun, hindi lang dahil sa popular ‘yung kandidato, suportahan mo na.”
[Translation: “Being a political party, I believe that one of the functions and duties of a political party is to participate in elections — to educate the people about the issues. (O)f course, to support candidates on the basis of a shared political philosophy. It should be that way — you don’t support a candidate just because he or she is popular.”]
CNN Philippines’ Anna Estanislao contributed to this report.
