ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Duterte to PDP-Laban: 'Let's not be blinded by our own ambitions'

Duterte to PDP-Laban: 'Let's not be blinded by our own ambitions'

Published Jul 17, 2021 08:39 pm

With the elections still several months away, President Duterte has called on the ruling PDP-Laban party to focus on improving the welfare of the people rather than advancing personal interests.

President Rodrigo Duterte attends the National Assembly of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) in Clark, Pampanga on July 17, 2021. (Malacañang)

The President issued the appeal after a change of leadership in the administration party during the national assembly in Clark, Pampanga Saturday, July 17.

The new PDP-Laban officers, led by Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi as president, took their oath before Duterte, the chairman of the party, during the meeting.

"Let us not be blinded by our own ambitions," Duterte told his party officials and members. "Let us not allow this party to be used to advance personal interests," he added.

While he recognized the PDP-Laban party remained "strong as ever," the President stressed the importance of "genuine unity and camaraderie" in attaining the group's objectives.

He urged the party officials and members to stay focused on the mission of uplifting the quality of life of the Filipino people, especially as the nation deals with the impact of the pandemic.

"Considering the magnitude of the responsibility that awaits the next batch of the elected officials in 2022 elections, we must remain focused on how to continue the reforms that we have instituted in the last five years," he said.

Duterte also told his party mates never lose sight of the founding principles upon which the party was built on. "Let us never forget that our end goal is always the improved welfare of the Filipino people," he said.

The President's appeal came even after criticizing Senator Aquilino Pimentel III for supposedly starting the "ruckus" within the party.

Duterte alleged that Pimentel, son of the party's founder the late Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr., made a mistake when Sen. Manny Pacquiao was designated as acting president of the party, instead of being elected under the group's rules. Pacquiao has been replaced by Cusi as party president during the Clark assembly.

Duterte also belittled Pimentel as PDP-Laban stalwart, saying while the party was a "work of love" by his father, the senator supposedly erred in his action.

He added that PDP-Laban party was a "father and son" party and only grew after he ran for the presidency in 2016.

"May I just remind Koko na itong party-ng PDP (that PDP party) was asleep for a 100 years. It only woke up during the election and when I ran for the presidency under the ticket," he said.

"It was a father and son party, period. Wala nang iba (Nothing else) and they are not even recognized in Cagayan de Oro City," he said.

Mincing no words with Pimentel, Duterte also claimed that the senator's poll chances would be slim even if he runs for a barangay post in his hometown.

"I am not trying to throw an insult pero ‘yan ang totoo talaga. They cannot win. Magtakbo ‘yang si Koko maski barangay captain, talo ‘yan sa kanila (If Koko runs even as barangay captain, he will lose in his area)," he said.

Related Tags

President Duterte PDP Laban party blinded by ambition personal interest 2022 elections
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.