President Duterte had a long conversation with presidential candidate former senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. in Manila over the weekend ‘but let us wait for any formal endorsement by the President (of Marcos’ presidential bid),’’ Senator Christopher ‘’Bong’ Go said.
‘’Silang dalawa lang ang nagkausap eh, so I cannot speak in behalf of the President and I cannot preempt him (Only the two of them talked so I cannot speak in behalf of the President and I cannot preempt him),’’ Go told Senate reporters.
‘’Antayin na lang po natin kung meron mang formal na anunsyo ang mahal na Pangulo (Let us just wait for any formal announcement from our beloved President),’’ he added.
Go said the President gave pieces of advice to Marcos that might be of use in the event he wins in the 2022 presidential race
‘’Based on his experience as president and as a local chief executive, being in the public service for the past 40 years na mahigit ay maraming pong experience ang ating Pangulo na maaaring mai-share niya sa susunod na mamumuno ng ating bayan (...past more than 40 years, he has plenty of experiences that he could share with the next leader of the Philippines),’’ he added..
Replying to a question whether ‘’it means this is your personal?,’’ Go replied: ‘’Party (Partidong Demoratkikong Pilipino-Laban, Cusi wing) decision po (This is a party decision). Ibig sabihin nagkonsultahan kami at majority ng PDP nakapagdesisyon na siya po ay i-adopt at susuportahan (what this means is we consulted with one another and the {party} decision is to adopt and support Marcos). Kasama po ako sa mga pumirma (I am one of the signatories).’’
Go recalled that the result of the meeting was good as the President was in a good mood, talking of different issues.
‘’I think 80 percent of the discussion ay more on si Presidente po ang nagsasalita and he shared his experience po as President sa mga nakaraan, nagbigay siya ng mga konting payo, ng mga ginawa niya para sa ating bayan na sana po ay ipagpatuloy ng kung sinuman na magiging susunod na pangulo (I think 80 percent of the entire conversation was done by the President, sharing his experiences, giving some advice, telling on what he has done to the country and expressing hopes that the next president would continue on with his programs,’’ he narrated.
Asked on observations by the PDP-Laban Pimentel wing that the PDP was formed by Senator Aquilio Pimentel III’s father, the late Senate President Aquilino Q. Pimentel Jr., to fight young Marcos’ father, the late Philippine President Ferdinand E. Marcos, Go replied: ‘’No comment na po ako diyan (I have no comment), it was a party decision).’'
Go stressed that President Duterte is the PDP-Laban Cusi wing chairman and that PDP-Laban became the ruling party when Duterte won the presidency in 2016.
He said he respects a decision of young Pimentel that there would be a cleansing process at PDP-Laban after the elections.
The Cusi and Pimentel wings of PDP-Laban await a decision of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on which of them is the legitimate party.
‘’So ako naman po being a party member susunod ako kung sino yung isa-sanction ng Comelec as the legal PDP wing or faction (As a party member, I will follow the Comelec decision,’’ Go said.
Go forecasted that the PDP-Laban would be in a disorganized state or "watak-watak" after President Duterte leaves Malacañang on June 30.
‘’That's the reality of Philippine politics and our party system dito sa ating bansa (in our country),’’ he pointed out.
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