Pacquiao seeking meeting with Duterte to discuss ‘simple misunderstanding’ —PDP exec

Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan president and Senator Manny Pacquiao has sought a meeting with the party’s chairman President Rodrigo Duterte to discuss the "simple misunderstanding" within the party, an official of the ruling party said on Tuesday.

“Katulad ng sabi ko, may konting misunderstanding lang po talaga. Kaya sa ngayon po ang ating party president Manny Pacquiao ay nagre-request ng meeting with party chairman, President Duterte, so that we can follow the proper process,” PDP-Laban executive director Ron Munsayac said in an interview on Dobol B TV.

(Like what I said, that is just a simple misunderstanding. That is why our party president Manny Pacquiao is now requesting a meeting with party chairman President Duterte so that we can follow the proper process.)

As of Tuesday morning, the Office of the President has yet to respond to Pacquiao’s request, Munsayac said.

Like in any other organization, the intramurals among the members of the ruling party is just “normal” especially now that the 2022 national and local elections is fast approaching, he said.

Munsayac said the issue could have been prevented had the camp of PDP-Laban vice chairman and Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi discussed the holding of the assembly with Pacquiao.

“Assuming na alam po at may basbas ni Pangulong Duterte ito, ay sana they worked together with party president Manny Pacquiao kasi po ‘yan po ang sistema ng PDP-Laban. We are a highly democratic political party,” he said.

(Assuming that President Duterte knew and approved the holding of this assembly, they should have worked together with party president Manny Pacquiao because that is the system in PDP-Laban. We are a highly democratic political party.)

“Kailangan ang dalawang top leaders ay mag-work together or kung ngayon man kung na-delegate man ito kay Vice Chairman Cusi sana po ay umupo muna sila para ma-set ang agenda, hindi ‘yung magugulat na lang tayo na may agenda na po tayo at may pagpupulong na po ng 150 plus members natin,” he added.

(The party’s top two leaders should work together or if the authority was delegated to vice chairman Cusi, then they should have discussed this first to set the agenda, and so we will not be surprised that the agenda was already laid out and they already convened the members of the party.)

On Monday, Cusi led the PDP-Laban first national council meeting despite the memorandum earlier issued by Pacquiao calling on party members to skip the event.

Pacquiao asserted that Cusi's call for the assembly was a violation of the party’s constitution.

But Cusi said the national council meeting is an “important political process” where PDP-Laban members should be encouraged as a “consultative and participatory democracy” is part of the basic tenets of the party.

Over the weekend, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said it was Duterte who directed Cusi to "organize, convene and preside" over the party's council meeting.

During Monday's assembly, the PDP-Laban national council adopted a resolution urging Duterte to run for the vice presidency in the coming elections.

The resolution also urged Duterte to choose his running mate for president in the 2022 polls.

Senator Panfilo Lacson earlier said Pacquiao wants to run for President in the May 2022 elections. 

No Constitutional violation

PDP-Laban vice president for external affairs Raul Lambino said Tuesday there  is no constitutional violation if ever Duterte will run for vice presidenct in the 2022 national election. 

“I don’t see any constitutional or legal violation for a president running for another position,” Lambino said in an ANC interview.

He cited former Presidents Joseph Estrada and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who both ran for local positions.

“So the prohibition is, President Rodrigo Duterte for president again in 2022, that is unconstitutional,” he noted.

So far, Lambino said the PDP-Laban has been doing consultations with their party members across the country.

“We have been receiving a lot of petitions, manifesto of support, urging the continuity of Duterte administration because they have seen how the President has performed in the last five years and they want the continuity of this kind of government and this kind of administration," he said.

Meanwhile, PDP-Laban executive director Ron Munsayac said in a virtual press conference that the legal committee of the ruling party is studying the adoption of the resolution urging Duterte to run for the country’s second highest office after his term.

“Off hand, what I am hearing from experts, Constitutional naman daw po at walang malalabag na batas if President Duterte decides to run for vice president. But we have already instructed our legal committee to submit a report to us para po educated din ang aming mga partymates dito,” he told reporters Tuesday.

(Off hand, what I am hearing from experts, President Duterte's run for vice president is constitutional and it will not violate any laws. But we have already instructed our legal committee to submit a report to us so that our partymates will be educated on this matter.)—KG/AOL, GMA News