Pacquiao-led PDP-Laban meeting in Sept. 'illegal,' says party sec-gen

The September PDP-Laban national council meeting, which will be organized by ousted party president Senator Manny Pacquiao, is illegal, according to the ruling party's secretary general on Monday. 

Interviewed on Unang Balita, Attorney Melvin Matibag said a national council meeting can only be held upon the call of the party chairman in coordination with its president.

"Ilegal po 'yun, 'yun po ang ilegal sapagkat malinaw po sa aming konstitusyon na ang maaari lamang magpatawag ng national council meeting ay ang chairman ng partido, who is President Duterte, in coordination with the party president," Matibag said.

(That's illegal because it is clear in our constitution that a national council meeting can only be called upon the order of the party chairman in coordination with the party president.)

"So ngayon po, kung magkakaroon kami ng national council meeting, ang magpapatawag po ay si Pangulong [Rodrigo] Duterte at makikipag-coordinate po kay Secretary Alfonso Cusi," Matibag added.

(If we are going to have a national council meeting, it should be called by President Duterte in coordination with Secretary Alfonso Cusi.)

PDP-Laban installed Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi as Pacquiao's replacement during a national assembly last Saturday.

Pacquiao, who is in the United States to prepare for his boxing fight against Errol Spence, criticized the said assembly and even questioned why this was prioritized instead of preventing the spread of the Delta variant.

Pacquiao's removal from post came a day after the PDP-Laban faction led by Cusi opened the new nominations for new party officials. Cusi organized the national assembly in Clark, Pampanga, which was attended by President Rodrigo Duterte.

In response to Matibag's claim that the planned assembly in September would be illegal, Senator Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III questioned why Cusi's faction did not even recognize Pacquiao's leadership before as it supposedly did not coordinate its assemblies and meetings with the boxer-senator.

"Ang sinasabi niya ngayon ang dapat mag-coordinate na daw ang chairman at saka si President Cusi, 'yung presidente nila. Eh bakit noong umpisa, noong si Senator Pacquiao pa ang presidente eh di naman sila nag-coordinate doon, parang shinortcut nila lahat," Pimentel pointed out in a separate Unang Balita interview.

(He's saying now that it should be coordinated with the chairman and their president, Cusi. Why then did they not coordinate with Senator Pacquiao when he was president of the party?)

Pimentel's father, the late Senate President Aquilino Pimentel Jr., is one of the founders of the PDP-Laban.

Delinquent members?

Meanwhile, Matibag insisted that Pimentel's allegation that the members who attended and voted during the assembly last July 17 were "delinquent" was baseless.

"'Yung sinasabing ganyan ni Senator Koko Pimentel, walang basehan po at walang katotohanan sapagkat pag sinabi po niyang delinquent 'yung mga dumalo noon eh siya po mismo ang tatamaan na nagsisinungaling," Matibag said.

(The remark of Senator Koko Pimentel was baseless and untrue. If he's saying that the members were delinquent, he is in fact lying.)

"Bakit po? ang pinagbasehan po ng attendance at boto po noong July 16 at 17 ay 'yun pong sworn information update status po na isinubmit po sa Comelec na ang nakapirma po mismo ay si Senator Koko Pimentel," he said.

(It's because the basis of the attendance and votes last July 16 and 17 was the sworn information update status that was submitted before the Comelec. It was signed by Senator Koko Pimentel.)

For his part, Pimentel explained that the said document was just a list of members and that the status of the members still needs to be assessed.

Members still need to attend basic membership seminars and that they still need to comply with other requirements, the senator added.

"Hindi automatic na kapag nakalista ka na member ay boboto ka na," Pimentel said. "If you do not comply, you are a delinquent member."

(It's not automatic that if you are listed as member, you may already vote.)

Pimentel had said they would reorganize their party members "if they need to." He added that they would also assess the meeting if there is a need to formalize the nomination of party candidates.

Matibag said Pacquiao and Pimentel are still members of PDP-Laban.

Matibag also said their camp is willing to talk with Pacquiao once the latter comes back from his fight.

"Pagdating po niya at nakabalik na siya dito at nais niyang makipagusap sa PDP-Laban, sa liderato ng PDP-Laban, nakabukas po ang aming tanggapan at puso't isipan para makipagusap po kay Senator Manny Pacquiao," he said.

(When he returns and he wants to talk to the leadership of the PDP-Laban, we are open to discuss matters with him.) —KBK, GMA News