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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider Matibag pokes at Pimentel's rant vs BBM endorsement; raises his 2019 campaign with Imee Marcos

Matibag pokes at Pimentel's rant vs BBM endorsement; raises his 2019 campaign with Imee Marcos

Published Mar 23, 2022 03:11 pm

Partido Demokratiko Pilipino–Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) Cusi faction Sec-Gen. Melvin Matibag brought up Senator Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel Jr's campaign history during the 2019 senatorial midterm elections, wherein he ran alongside Senator Imee Marcos, sister to presidential bet Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.

Sen. Imee Marcos (left) and Sen. Koko Pimentel (right)

“Ang pulitika (In politics) there are a lot of dynamics. If he is really true to what he is saying na ‘etong partido tinayo laban sa diktador’ (that this party was created to fight a dictator), if you will look at the footages noon 2019 na campaign, he is seated beside Senator Imee Marcos, inadopt ng PDP yan (PDP adopted her) as a candidate, with his consent,” Matibag bared in a CNN interview with Pinky Webb on Wednesday, March 23.

“So wag naman niya sabihin na ganito ngayon na (So he shouldn’t say those things now that) it doesn't suit his personal interest, hindi pwede na double standard ang ating pamantayan sa isang partido (we can’t have double standards when it comes to a political party),”

This, following Pimentel’s rant against the Cusi faction’s endorsement of Marcos Jr.’s presidential campaign.

“They don’t even acknowledge that PDP-LABAN was established to oppose the Marcos dictatorship,” Pimentel said on Tuesday, March 22 in reaction to PDP-Laban’s endorsement of Marcos Jr, son of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr.

It’s true that Pimentel did campaign alongside Ms. Marcos in 2019.

In a 2019 ANC Headstart interview with Pimentel, journalist Karen Davila raised the same points raised by Matibag. She pointed out that Pimentel’s father, Aquilino Pimentel Sr, was renowned for fighting the Marcos dictatorship and for founding the PDP Party before its merger with the Laban Party.

She also added that voters had begun to wonder “how could you (Pimentel) share the stage with Imee ” the daughter of Marcos Sr.

“Number one, I’ve gotten used to it. We are both carried by Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP) where I am also a guest candidate... Imee Marcos is the guest candidate of PDP-Laban upon the suggestion and nomination of our party chairman, President Duterte. I respect the decision of President Duterte to expand the five official PDP-Laban by adding seven guest candidates,” Pimentel told Davila during the 2019 interview, referring to HNP party dynamics during the midterm elections.

“With Imee , if you ask me about the Marcos Martial Law years and if these were good years or beneficial years for the country, I would still say no because of the suppression of democracy, we had no basic freedoms. That is still going to be my stand when you ask me my opinion about the Marcos Martial Law years, but I can campaign with Imee because she has been nominated by the President,” Pimentel added.

PDP-Laban–which was originally founded to counter the Marcos dictatorship–split into two rival factions in 2021: the Cusi Wing led by Energy secretary Alfonso Cusi and chaired by President Duterte; and the Pacquiao-Pimentel faction led by Senator Manny Pacquiao and chaired by Pimentel.

Related Tags

Bongbong Marcos endorsement Marcos imee marcos Elections 2022 koko pimentel PDP-Laban
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