Unity among members of the ruling Partido Demokratikong Pilipino (PDP)-Laban party is needed as its senatorial slate begins to take shape.
This was stressed Thursday (July 22) by Senator Christopher ‘’Bong’’ Go as President Duterte needs party members’ support of the Duterte administration’s goal of providing a more comfortable life for all Filipinos amid these challenging times.
“Ang importante rito nakapag-national assembly, nakapili na tayo ng bagong Presidente at ng new set of officers (What is important is we had a National Assembly to select a new President and a new set of officers). Ako naman po, dati na po ako national auditor na re-elect lang po ako (I am a re-elected national auditor),” Go said. Go said PDP-Laban, at its national assembly in Clark, Pampanga last July 7, elected Department of Energy (DoE) Secretary Alfonso Cusi as the party President.
President Rodrigo Duterte, as Chairman of the party, commended members of PDP-Laban for their continuing trust and confidence in helping the government lead the country towards recovery amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“We need to strengthen the party. Strengthen in the sense na kailangan po’y magkaisa at hindi po magkawatak-watak (we need unity so that we will not be separated),” Go said, adding that he is willing to step in as mediator between factions within the party if necessary.
These are the pro-Duterte Cusi faction and the Senator Emmanuel D. Pacquiao faction.
Go said he is willing to act as mediator for the sake of party unity as the October deadline of filing of certificates of candidacy approaches.
He stressed that PDP-Laban party is very strong and is a majority party in the Senate and the House of Representatives and even down to the local level.
‘’Madami pong miyembro, mahigit isang daang libong miyembro po ito (The party has more than 100,000 members). Sayang po ang partido kapag nagkawatak-watak po at hindi nagkaisa (it is a waste if the party becomes divided),” he added.
Go also warned his fellow PDP-Laban members not to squander the gains made in the past years in building a strong political party that continues to instill positive change in the country as promised by the President.
“‘Yung partidong ito ay maliit lang po ito halos isang jeep lang po ito, ngayon po isang katutak na bus na po ang partido (Originally, this party was small whose members could only fill up a jeepney. Now it members now fill up many buses). Huwag ho nating sayangin ‘yung ating paglalakbay (Let us not spoil our journey). Ito po ang tumulong kay Pangulong Duterte, nagluklok sa kanya bilang president (This is the party that helped Duterte become President),” Go pointed out.
Meanwhile, Go clarified that while many Senate aspirants have signified their intent to be part of the administration slate for the 2022 senatorial elections, the list has not been finalized yet.
Go earlier said that in those being selected in the Duterte senatorial slate includes nine Cabinet members, some re-electionists, and some come-backing senators.
He stressed that there is still no final list.
Go assured that President Duterte would choose his candidates well in line with the vision of continuing the positive change that the current administration has worked hard for the past years.
He, however, reiterated that the focus now of the President and his administration is on strengthening COVID-19 response and economic recovery measures.