Duterte to attend PDP-Laban senatorial campaign kick off in Bulacan

President Rodrigo Duterte is set to attend the senatorial campaign kick off of the ruling PDP-Laban party on Thursday.

Duterte’s attendance to the proclamation rally, which will be held in San Jose del Monte City in Bulacan, was confirmed by Malacañang on Tuesday.

The President is expected to drum up support for five PDP-Laban bets, namely, reelectionist Senator Aquilino Pimentel III, former Special Assistant to the President Christopher “Bong” Go, former presidential political adviser Francis Tolentino, former national police and corrections chief Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa and Maguindanao Representative Zajid Mangudadatu.

All five candidates belong to the administration coalition put up by the Hugpong ng Pagbabago, the regional party founded by Duterte’s daughter Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, who spearheaded a campaign caravan for its 13 Senate bets in vote-rich Pampanga province on Tuesday.

Apart from his party-mates, the President said he would also endorse candidates outside PDP-Laban.

They include siblings JV Ejercito and Jinggoy Estrada, reelectionists Cynthia Villar and Sonny Angara, Taguig City Representative Pia Cayetano, Ilocos Norte Governor Imee Marcos and singer Freddie Aguilar.

Duterte’s decision to endorse Estrada, a defendant in plunder and graft cases involving the pork barrel scam, has raised questions on the sincerity of the chief executive’s anti-corruption drive, but Malacañang argued the former senator is presumed innocent until proven guilty by the court.

Pre-campaign surveys indicated a better chance for administration-allied candidates to bag any of the 12 seats up for grabs in the May 13 midterm elections. — Virgil Lopez/RSJ, GMA News