People’s Champ Movement conversion to nat’l party just coincided with ongoing PDP-Laban rift —Pacquiao

Senator Manny Pacquiao on Wednesday denied that he is preparing the regional party, People’s Champ Movement (PCM), to be his vehicle for a possible presidential bid in Eleksyon 2022.

He made the clarification as he said that the PCM’s conversion to a national party just coincided with the ongoing intramurals in the PDP-Laban.

“Ang PCM naman ay partido ng kapatid ko at ‘yung kapatid ko gustong palakihin ang PCM party so 'yun po ang direksyon n’yan,” Pacquiao said.

(PCM is a party led by my siblings and they wanted to expand the group so that is the direction of their party.)

“Matagal na 'yang inaapela ng mga kapatid ko na gawing national ang PCM party. Last two elections pa. Ngayon lang nagawa. Nagkataon lang na ngayon lang nagawa,” he added.

(They have been appealing for the declaration of PCM as a national party. They are pushing for PCM’s conversion two elections ago but they were only able to do it now. It just so happened that they were able to act on it now.)

Pacquiao said he had left the PCM party when he became an officer of PDP-Laban.

The lawmaker-boxer took his oath as the new PDP-Laban president in December 2020.

Pacquiao also said his faction will coalesce with the PCM party.

PDP-Laban secretary general Melvin Matibag earlier claimed that Pacquiao was allegedly converting the People's Champ Movement into a national political party, which is a major ground for expulsion.

Pacquiao's spokesperson, former Negros Occidental Rep. Monico Puentevella, denied the allegation.

He said Pacquiao would stay with PDP-Laban even with the intramurals between the factions.

Pacquiao, backed by Senator Aquilino Pimentel III, has been asserting his authority over the PDP-Laban, saying he is the “legitimate” president of the ruling party.

This, as the group of Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi held PDP-Laban national council meetings and assemblies without the blessing of Pacquiao and Pimentel.

In July, Pacquiao's group expelled Cusi and Melvin Matibag from the party. Days later, Cusi's group ousted Pacquiao as PDP-Laban president.

Meanwhile, Pacquiao’s faction recently elected Pimentel as the party chairman, replacing President Rodrigo Duterte.

On Tuesday, the Cusi-led wing filed a petition before the Comelec to declare Pacquiao and Pimentel as illegal representatives of their party.

Pacquiao, however, maintained that they are the legitimate PDP-Laban group.—AOL, GMA News