Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi on Tuesday said the Partido ng Demokratikong Pilipino-Laban (PDP-Laban) respects the decision of Senator Christopher “Bong” Go to withdraw from the May 2022 presidential race.
“He withdrew for a good reason and we standby his decision,” Cusi said in an interview on TeleRadyo.
Cusi, who heads the PDP-Laban faction supported by President Duterte, confirmed that the senator had discussed the matter of withdrawing from the presidential race before he publicly announced his decision early this morning.
“When he made that decision, I believe and I’m sure he did it for a good reason and as I said, we respect that decision and support that,” Cusi stressed.
Now that they do not have a standard bearer, Cusi said they will call for a meeting with the executive committee on Wednesday to evaluate their next step.
Nevertheless, he said the party faction believes in continuing the program of government that President Duterte has started.
“Kahit na po nag withdraw si Sen. Bong Go sa pagtakbo sa pagkapangulo, itutuloy po ng PDP yung program of government na isinusulong po natin, kasi kami ay naniniwala sa (Even though Sen. Go has dropped his presidential bid, the PDP-Laban will still pursue the program of government we know because we believe in) party politics,” Cusi said.
Cusi also said that if they would decide to support a candidate, they will choose one that can pursue a program of governemnt with the same zealousness that the President has started.
Go earlier announced his decision to withdraw from the presidential race, citing he is unprepared to launch a presidential campaign and that his family is opposed to his bid.
The lawmaker originally filed his candidacy for vice president under the PDP-Laban and later on withdrew and then ran for president under the Pederalismo ng Dugong Dakilang Samahan (PDDS) as a substitute candidate.