Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi on Sunday urged partymates in the Partido ng Demokratikong-Laban (PDP-Laban) to “toe the party line and remain steadfast” a day after some candidates withdrew and substituted their candidacies.
“To our partymates in the PDP-Laban, we assure you that nothing has changed, our objective remains the same—victory in the coming national and local elections,” Cusi said.
“We urge you to toe the party line and remain steadfast. President Rodrigo Roa Duterte will personally lead our campaign and is committed to support all our candidates,” he said.
Cusi, party president, assured their faction that President Duterte will lead the party’s campaign in Eleksyon 2022.
“We shall call a National Council meeting before the end of this year. We shall campaign hard and we will not rest until our objective is attained,” he said.
On Saturday, Duterte’s daugther Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio filed her certificate of candidacy (COC) for vice president under Lakas-CMD, substituting for Lyle Uy who withdrew his COC.
Also on Saturday, Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go withdrew his candidacy for vice president of the PDP-Laban and filed a COC for President under the Pederalismo ng Dugong Dakilang Samahan (PDDS), a political party led by senatorial aspirant Greco Belgica.
Prior to Go’s withdrawal, Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa first withdrew his COC for President.
President Duterte, meanwhile, had said he would run for vice president in the upcoming May 2022 elections.