The Cusi faction of the ruling party Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) will hold a National Council Meeting to finalize the details about who it will endorse as vice president in the 2022 polls, acting Presidential Spokesman Karlo Nograles said on Tuesday, Nov. 16.
He, however, did not answer the question if the party will endorse the candidacy for vice president of presidential daughter and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, who PDP-Laban earlier tried to convince to run as president under their party.
Duterte-Carpio, who topped the presidential preference surveys, is running for vice president under Lakas-CMD. Her father, President Duterte, was supposed to run as vice president, too, under PDP-Laban, but changed his mind at the last minute.
READ: Sara runs for vice president under Lakas-CMD
He is now running for senator.
“So, we are just finalizing the details on time, date, venue para mapag-usapan po iyong isyung ‘yan or iyang katanungan na ‘yan at iba pang mga kailangan nating pagdesisyunan sa partido ng PDP-Laban (to talk about that issue or that question and other things that the party of PDP-Laban needs to discuss) ,” the acting spokesman, who is also a member of PDP-Laban, said during an online press briefing.
Whoever PDP-Laban will endorse will tandem with Senator Bong Go, who, despite running under a different party, has the full support of the President and his allies.
Go and even the President himself are running under the Pederalismo ng Dugong Dakilang Samahan (PDDS) because of an “ongoing legal issue” with PDP-Laban.
READ: Duterte tells Go to 'run for president'; says he will reveal why he won't support Marcos, Pacquiao
The ruling party was divided into two when the faction of Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi wanted Duterte-Carpio and Go to run as president and vice president, respectively, while Senator Koko Pimental, the son of PDP-Laban’s founder, Nene Pimentel, supported presidential aspirant Senator Manny Pacquiao.
Nograles doesn’t see any problem with Go and Duterte running under PDDS since it is also allied with PDP-Laban.
“May alliance po ang dalawang partidong yan. At iyong pagfile po nila Senator Bong at Pangulong Duterte (Those two parties have an alliance. The filing of Senator Bong and President Duterte) under PDDS ay para umiwas sa (was done to avoid) any legal complications that may or may not arise dahil po may (because there is an) ongoing legal issue ngayon ang PDP-Laban sa Comelec (with PDP-Laban in Comelec),” he explained.
PDDS was formed by then Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) chairman Greco Belgica to support Duterte. His father, Grepor Belgica, filed a COC for president. It is the elder Belgica that Go substituted for under the withdrawal and substitution provision of the Omnibus Election Code.