Pimentel: PDP-Laban might field Davao Mayor Duterte in 2016 polls

The Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) is considering fielding Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte as the party’s standard-bearer in the 2016 presidential elections.

 

At a chance interview with reporters during the party's 33rd anniversary celebration on Saturday, Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, PDP-Laban president, said Duterte is one of their top choices for standard bearer.

 

"Dadaan pa po iyon sa proseso pero malakas ang kanyang suporta within the membership of the party," Pimentel said.

 

"Hindi pa po sa ngayon, but nakikita ko na marami kaming members from Visayas ang Mindanao na halos solid sila na Duterte for president, pero dadaanan pa po iyon sa proseso," he added.

 

Pimentel, however, stressed that the decision to field Duterte should undergo proper process.

 

"As soon as we can call for a national convention and then the councils of each chapters are properly represented then when there is a formal motion, then we will now process the motion," he explained.

 

'Strong candidate'

 

Pimentel noted that Duterte has a strong following in Visayas and Mindanao.

 

"I think sa Visayas, may market si Mayor Duterte because he speaks Cebuano, and a little bit of Ilonggo, and coming from Mindanao, mayroon namang natural identification ang Visayas and Mindanao," he said.

 

"Sa Luzon na lang, and the party, PDP-Laban, is strong in Luzon," he added. "We have [a] presence in Ilocos, Bicol, and in Region 4, and Metro Manila. Although our members are not named politicians, we have members nationwide."

 

He added that he is confident that Duterte has a chance to beat other possible presidential candidates, including Vice President Jejomar Binay, a long-time PDP-Laban member who has since formed his own United Nationalist Alliance.

 

"Wala namang nagfa-file para matalo," he said. "Magsusumikap po kami para sa aming kandidato, whoever he or she is."

 

Binay, one of the strong contenders in the 2016 presidential elections,  resigned from the party in 2014 over differences with Pimentel. 

 

Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) announced in March 2014 its decision to bolt UNA, shortly after Binay expressed his intention to leave the party.

 

Meanwhile, when asked who the party will field as Duterte's running mate, Pimentel said: "Wala, but common sense tells us to get someone from Visayas or Luzon."

 

Asked if Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago could be PDP-Laban's bet for vice president, Pimentel said it is a possibility.

 

Santiago said in 2014 that Duterte is her first choice for vice president should she run for president in 2016.

 

'Face of federalism'

 

Meanwhile, Pimentel said he believes that Duterte could be the leader who will be able to push the transition to federalism, which the party has been advocating since 1982.

 

"I think federalism is an idea that time has come, and PDP-Laban used to be the face of federalism that we are willing to give Mayor Duterte, and let him be the face of federalism," he said.

"Since we need a better personality to embody, to become the face of federalism, and if Mayor Duterte wants to be the face, then we let him be the face of federalism."

 

Pimentel stressed that federalism would help preserve the cultural identity of each province in the country.

 

"Ang bansa natin, mayroon tayong kanya-kanyang identities, na sana to preserve the cultural identify, ung ugali ng lugar na iyon, we should adopt a more decentralized form of government, and one form is federalism," he added. "But sana nasa constitution ang relationship between the national and the federal states."

 

"For example, itong Bangsamoro is an example of federalism, but it's asymmetric kasi isa lang na region ang binibigyang special treatment," he explained. "If we adopted federalism, regions will be given special treatment in its own way."

 

Duterte's name is among those being floated as potential candidates in the 2016 national elections.

In late 2014, a group calling itself the "Duterte for President Movement" launched a caravan to convince the mayor to run. 

 

Duterte, who has a reputation for being tough on crime, has repeatedly clashed with the Commission on Human Rights over threatening statements that he has made against drug pushers and against an alleged rice smuggler. — JDS, GMA News